C.A. Goes to Chicago

 Bicycles

Chicago, Illinois

 

 Bridge View

Chicago, Illinois

 Chicago Fire

Sunrise

Chicago, Illinois

Just returned from Chicago, where I attempted to wear business attire. I attended a conference, which is amusing all in itself, just because I felt way, way out of my element, but I tried to blend in nonetheless. I did have to wear my Vans though, because my right foot is bothering me. Poor me, ha.

I think I pulled it off.

I haven't been to Chicago since the memorable, fifth grade class trip we took. Why did we take this trip? I have no idea. There we were -- a bunch of Catholic school kids on the loose in Chicago. When I say "on the loose," that's because at some point, I sneaked off with some kids and got "lost;" that is, lost on purpose, which got us in a whole hell of a lot of trouble. Also on that fifth grade trip, I was desperately trying to get the attention of the second most popular boy, Christopher, who preferred the most popular girl, who wasn't me. I bet you're sorry now, Christopher. I've got skills. I'd like to say I have a six pack, but today it's like a four pack with a li'l belly attached. Hey, my nose is pretty good. I've always liked my nose. And my eyes seem to be holding up. The rest is sort of iffy.

Anyway, back to the present. So when I returned home, I found out the Ellen Show premiere is in Chicago this coming Tuesday...aw, I should have stuck around and tried to bust in and score a ticket! Oh well. Next time? Man.

Did you know Waking the Dead is my favorite movie? This has nothing to do with this post. I just thought of it for no reason at all. I want a love like that. But I want it to work out. You know, be  together.

So I loved Chicago -- the theaters, the wide sidewalks, the water, everything about it really. I spent a lot of time on super early morning walks. I tried to beat the business crowd. I also spent a lot of time at 7-11. Now, this wasn't just any old 7-11. They had every single thing I needed, at all times. It was amazing.

Well, my favorite thing about this city was Eugene; he works at the hotel desk, but he's also a science fiction writer, and he has a book out. I'm gonna plug it for him as soon as I read it. Eugene and I liked to cut it up. From the get go, when I went to check in, and there were some problems, he was incredibly gracious. I said, "I know I look sketchy." I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she was getting looks and major shit when she was trying to check into the posh hotel, and later, when she was attempting to buy nice clothes. That was me. Eugene treated me like a queen, regardless, just like the hotel manager in that movie, played beautifully by Hector Elizondo, I might add.

My second favorite thing about this city:  in the hotel hallway, I swear I made super soulful, incredibly deep, meaningful, momentous eye contact with one of the conference speakers, and I kept running into him, and I achingly wanted to talk to him, but alas, fate never delivered. It reminded me of the times when I was at a rock show, and I thought the singer was looking at me with deep fascination, when in reality, he probably just had to take a piss. Anyway, maybe the speaker and I shall meet again in the Hotel Cloud Room 3&4 in another lifetime.

Back to the grind. Working on Book Three, doing other writing, back on sched.

Hope you like the photos. Hope I made you laugh,
C.A. MacConnell

Photo: Rush Hour

Rush Hour

Terrace Park, OH

Good morning. On the road again. Have a beautiful day.

C.A. MacConnell

P.S. Hi Mike.

Columbus

 North High Street

Columbus, OH

Hi there. Took a little trip to Columbus last night to see this:

My one sentence review (spoiler alert):  Violet wins, because she has control over Chip even after she's dead and also, I'd go with Chip anyday, and I don't give a shit about the money.

Ha, loved it. Surely destined to be a cult classic. Nice work to all. Gubler and Vand were my favorites.

My world:  working on Book Three every single day! Hope to have it out this year. Lookin' good. Going to Chicago tomorrow! Movin' and shakin', hells yeah. Much peace and love to you.

Love,
C.A. MacConnell

Roadside

Hello, a poem for you today. Hope you dig it. Get to work on my new book and spend time with my sis today. :) It's gonna be a good day. Good morning, I'm hungry for Pop Tarts, just sayin'. Thank you for reading, everyone! C.A.

Roadside

The Jaguar is broken
down,
and in the traffic's face,
I am making
wolf eyes,
feeling the speed of machine
cheetahs,
because no honest beast slows down,
and the hot air burns any cheek,
like sun-beat bars on a steel cage,
and the closest
rest stop
is five hundred tracks away,
and I wonder
where you are killing
lunch.

C.A. MacConnell

Book Three: the Newbie

Hey there! So I'm heavily into working on book 3! It's still looking like a young adult book...a mystery, and a love story...my two favorite things. Could be read as an adult story as well. Juicy enough for both. Photo of me, working hard with the remote, ha. Where the hell that t-shirt has gone, I have no idea, but I sure wish I still had it.

All's well. I do have a first draft in place. Now I'm rearranging things, adding detail, and the like.

It still needs quite a bit a work, but I'm chipping away at it day by day. Excited. Just thought I'd put some energy out there about the newbie.

I have a title, but I'm not revealing that just yet; it could change.

On another note, yesterday I read something cool:  only bring up something from the past if it's going to improve the relationship. Also, religion is the ritual, and spirituality is how you feel about it.

I found this helpful. Hope you do as well.

Much love, always,

C.A. MacConnell

P.S. I got some new reading glasses. They're cool, eh? Distressed, they're called. And I might say, I look rather distressed in this pic, ha. Nah, I just woke up. Before coffee shot. <3 Hopefully I'll make you smile. By the way, hi to my friend Mike! Hope you have a good day.

Photo: Lost Glove 25

Lost Glove 25

C.A. MacConnell

Which Way

 Which Way

Glenwood Gardens

What if I were to wake up and decide to live my life today like this:  seeing what I can give to everyone I see today, rather than what I can take from them?

And with my thoughts, instead of thinking of me, what if I thought of others and prayed for their peace, happiness, and freedom from suffering?

What if I tried to see what I can add to a situation, rather than what I can get out of it?

What if I look for the similarities rather than the differences?

What if I played and encouraged others to laugh and play?

Maybe if I try it, it'll radiate outward.

What if we all tried these things today? Wouldn't it change the earth we walk upon?

I'll do my best. I might screw up, ha. But let me start here:  much love to you,
C.A. MacConnell

P.S. Hi Mike. Keep trooping.

Aw...Conflict. Get. It. Out.

In any close relationship, be it with a mother, father, brother, sister, lover, whoever, of course conflict always comes into play at some point.

I admit that I can't stand it. I'd rather hide, go for a walk, screw, go on a roadtrip, anything to avoid it. But of course, if I avoid it too long, it festers, and it must be faced if any sort of growth can occur...and if the relationship can continue.

Arrgh.

So I've noticed some interesting things that have happened as of late. I had a conflict with one girl, and we talked about it, and it went smooth, like Creamy Deluxe. No prob. With another, we talked, and it snowballed into a mess of circular nothingness; that is, we got nowhere, and we had to agree to disagree, let it go, and just move on. Nothing was really settled. We just agreed to bury it.

Two different people, same approach by me, but yet, the result was strikingly different. Interesting. Can't say my approach was perfect, or even close, but I'm trying to stand up and be brave, for sure.

When dealing with conflict, family is always tougher. Buttons are pushed. Then more buttons. Then there is nothing left but buttons and pushing and more buttons and pushing. Sometimes it's best to air shit, expect nothing, and walk away. Or never bring anything up in the first place...keep it light.

Or let it sit.

Depends.

But whatever the issue, and whatever the outcome, I try to be wholly honest, and I still learn about me, and in the end, I learn how to better love. Also, I'm reminded that I'm not perfect, and neither is anyone else.

Hey, we're all doing the best we can with what we have to work with...and sometimes, our toolbox is far from full.

Mostly, I'm a quiet, introverted person and not much conflict slams into my life. Sure, I'm guilty of stuffing things rather than expressing anger, but I've gotten better at voicing it in the right way, and this helps with the depression too, which is anger turned inward, really. So "they" say.

Get. It. Out. Somehow. If not to the person directly, then to a close friend, therapist, or the hawks, whatever you wish. Scream at the sky. Hit a pillow. Chill, then have a talk. Run, then make a call. Just get it out, I say. Maybe I don't have to address anyone directly. Maybe I can just yell at the woods. They listen, they do. Especially those trees in the swamp, just sayin'.

Otherwise, stuffed conflict lurks in my foot and gives me an ache that won't go away. Or it settles in my heart, and I'll be all at once cold and alone. Or I'll feel a pain in my neck. A soreness in the shoulder. A headache, a stomachache, wherever the ignored feelings choose to settle.

I don't have all the answers, but when I face conflict, when I get it out somehow, I know it won't become trapped within the depths of my skin and bones and turn me into a depressed death machine, and I'll come out on the other side as a stronger version of little ol' me.

C.A. MacConnell

P.S. My friend Mike, yo. How are you? Peace to you, bro. Face the fear and do it anyway, today, and I will too.

Photo: Hawk

Anybody else thinking of Ladyhawk today? If you are, I'll marry you. If it's Michelle Pfeiffer, even better, she can come too.

C.A. MacConnell

Photo: Charlottesville, 1995

 

Surprise, Secret Soul Coughing Show

Charlottesville, VA 1995

Charlottesville has always been known for its magical mountains and music. Let's send them music. Why isn't anyone doing a show there? In the streets. Music can bring us together. All arts can heal. That's what I believe. And arts can educate as well.

Since I lived in Virginia for seven years, just an hour and a half from Charlottesville, I was there a lot over the course of time. The mountains there are truly majestic. And back then, the music was unreal...booming secretly all around town. Awesome.

Life, equality, love, and hope,

C.A. MacConnell

Photo: Dark Horse, Shadow

Dark Horse, Shadow

Camp Dennison, OH

C.A. MacConnell

What's In There

With his fingers, one lonely man
made a perfect, nude, stone sculpture.

A single woman penned a lofty book,
one about a shy, misunderstood

monster, a recluse who was half
machine. How could we ever

forget. Others wrote elusive songs,
poems, naked stories, and yes,

bibles and speeches. Soliloquies.
Still today, each moment, the world

falls in love with Marilyn Monroe.
How we all want to somehow

describe what's in there. We wake,
and we feel the ache, the relentless

pull in the center of the blood.
And here I am, going at it again,

trying to express what lies inside
my deep, my heart, but like the rest,

I'll never quite reach. I'm sure you
already know.

C.A. MacConnell

Photo: Nevada

 

 Nevada

This is one of my favorite shots I've taken. Hope it makes you smile.

I am 43 today. :0 Still kickin' it single, ha! How can I be an old cat lady if I don't have a cat anymore? An old stuffed animal lady? An old cleaning lady? I have no identity now...spinster? Hm. I know...genius artist.

Like you.

We are all artists, aren't we, in some way or another?

My celebration plans? Good coffee, a nice walk, maybe something sweet. Hope you're having a beautiful day, whoever's reading. Sending much love to your heart.

<3,
C.A. MacConnell

Memphis, Tennessee

 Graceland Mansion

Wall at Graceland

Here are a few more I took. Not an Elvis fanatic, but appreciate the history here. I prefer artists like  Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, and the like. <3

C.A. MacConnell

New Orleans, LA.

New Orleans, LA. Truth:  the only part about the city I liked was this vegan cake I had, and I made friends with a sweet female mule, and I kept walking to the French Quarter to visit her and stroke her face becauase she was sweaty (although I'm very against carriage rides). I also liked my ghost story teller, Edward, who was smokin'. Other than that, I wanted to be in the swamp. Or somewhere else, in the woods. Ha.

I guess most people like the craziness, and the like. I like the quiet of the river, or the way the trees seem to talk and sway in Louisiana. I'm turning into Grizzly Adams or something.

Hope you are well and happy. Enjoy the shots! Much love to you on this miracle of a day, yo.

C.A. MacConnell

More from the Swamp. Marrero, LA

 2,000 year old Indian burial mound and cemetery.

 My new friend Simon.

Some Spanish moss for you. 

Maybe I'll go for a hike through here and hang out with some poisonous snakes. :0

Hello. Just got back from Louisiana. I stayed in New Orleans, but I preferred the Swamp to the city, for sure. I realized I like open space a whole hell of a lot better than cities now.

Hope you like the shots.

C.A. MacConnell

Marrero, LA

Hi more to come from the swamp. On way home. Love to you, CA

Photo: Shred It

Shred It

C.A. MacConnell

Touch

On my way in to get my hair cut, I saw a stranger -- a young, black-haired, dark-eyed woman -- sitting on a bench beside me, gripping her stomach with one hand, talking on the phone with the other. Then her voice rose, and she sobbed and hung up.

Sitting down on the bench next to her, I gave her a hug, holding on tight while she told me that her boyfriend broke up with her, and that she had nowhere to live. We talked for a while, and I repeatedly said, "Take it one moment at a time," and by the time I went in for my haircut, the girl had found a place to stay for the night, and she had used a Band-Aid to wipe the tears from her face (which worked better than I thought it would).

The next day, I was on a hike through the woods, and when I came to the end of the trail, I squinted, noticing that a strange shape was blocking my way. When I came closer, I saw that an older woman sat on the steps. Hunched over, she too was weeping. I had never seen her before either, but I sat down next to her and gave her a hug. No words, just touch. Later, I found out that she had been recently diagnosed with a chronic illness. Soon, surgery. She told me that she was seventy, and she'd been coming to those same woods since she was seven years old. When she stopped crying, she said, "God will take care of me." Then, as if passing on a spiritual gift, she gave me her walking stick, and she hopped in the car with her sister.

It comes to all of us, doesn't it? It comes in waves at times.

This morning, I read about the Native American view on feelings. The words spoke of the power of prayer, and it went on to say that if a person prays from the head, the person feels nothing, but if a person prays from the heart, the feelings come. Suppose for a moment that when we ask, sometimes the answer comes in a purification of feelings; that is, grief, panic, and the like. In their culture, they view it as a cleansing ceremony, which I think is such a beautiful idea. It's not embarrassing to them; rather, it's a respected, honored, natural order of things. People are allowed time to grieve and such, and it's recognized in the community as well, creating a web of support.

Throughout the course of the day, week, year, and lifetime, they are allowed to be who they really are, and not only that, but they are encouraged to be. They put great value on the internal process, something that gets so lost between us at times.

Sometimes all we need is touch.
C.A. MacConnell

Photo: You Lead

You Lead

California, OH

C.A. MacConnell

Which Way Are You Leaning?

Leaning

Mason, OH

A wise man once told me that whenever I'm trying to make a tough decision, I should ask myself, Which way am I leaning? It usually clears things up. :) Just saying. Hope you like the pic.

So stoked. Things are happening very quickly lately...

I went to an acting workshop, and I met some rad people. 

I'm heading to New Orleans this week, and I've never been there, so I'm thrilled. Never been to Louisiana at all, actually. Wonderful. New is beautiful.

The book's doing well! Please buy a copy if you haven't. Both books are doing well, actually. Please leave a comment on Amazon if you read them. I'd be so grateful. Thanks.

Been meeting a lot of artsy folks -- actors, photographers, writers. Lovely connections.

Working hard. Playing hard. 

Will head to Chicago at the end of the month. 

Whew. I feel like God's getting me ready to do some bigtime traveling, and I'm more than ready.

Life feels happy and full. Thank you for reading,

C.A. MacConnell

While Ordering Salt Blocks

While Ordering Salt Blocks

 

Someone buy me a horse.

Let him be bay or
black,
the biggest, baddest motherfucker
in the barn,

one who can jump circles
around
her

and
her.

To have that freedom, to run with them,
to slip inside the posters on my walls,

to go back to when I was ten,
when no one was shaky

yet.

The people are like hoof prints,

and the rain lives on; hell, look
at the way the wet sticks to the ring
sand. I am one of the few
betting that desperate, true

love
lives beyond the books.

I could use the ocean.

-- C.A. MacConnell

Photo: Juliet

Juliet

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

 
C.A. MacConnell

Did you pick up your copy yet!?????????

Skater, Roanoke, VA

Hi. I'm about to go downtown looking spiffy. Well, at least somewhat normal. Maybe a l'il mascara, you know. I'm thinking that sexy/workout look. No pajamas, I promise, although that's my preferred attire. Hope you are well and happy. Also...

Did you pick up your copy of THE HOUSE OF ANCHOR yet?

It'll take you to another world. And the characters are so vibrant; they'll become a part of you. They won't let you go without feeling the whole story deeply...

Don't miss out. Now's your chance, because...

A portion of the proceeds goes to The Prospect House, a local drug and alcohol treatment center. We've already given a slew of donations, which is awesome...let's do more!

If you're reading already, thank you for your support! And if you finished the book already, please leave a review on Amazon. Every comment matters.

If you're not reading this book yet, please purchase your copy today!!

C.A. MacConnell

P.S. Not to be outdone, my 2013 book, GRIFFIN FARM, is available as well. :) Thanks so much and sending love your way.

Ache

Man, I thought my eyes
were 20/20.

Ache.

What will we
hell-yes-into-the-night-create.

Ache.

I love these hours
too.

Ache.

I am home,
polishing silver.

-- C.A. MacConnell