Jerry Schellhammer

The Gulley

It’s a place in my previous life in East Wenatchee I knew all too well. A cavernous gulley that for some mysterious reason happened to be on top of a hilltop. I don’t to this day know what geologic forces played a role in its development but suffice to say it was a magical and adventurous place for a young boy and his dog to explore.

Recuperating

Sunday, I threw my back out somehow. I’m going to see my doctor, Cyndi at the Kaiser Permanente clinic this afternoon. I’m in pain but semi-functional as I inform you my loyal readers that I had some not-so-great news from my publisher in regard to the royalty payment I’ve waited since August for.

11-11-11

The eleventh hours of the eleventh day of the eleventh month Private Doug Clark wasted away in an endless trench on the Western Front; a wasteland of craters, mud and tree trunks splintered by bombs and howitzer shells. He shivered in damp and cold air. His coat that everyone assured him would keep him warm, was wet and useless.

Truth Stranger than Fiction?

True story, which is funny because I have a rough draft of a similar plot in the works awaiting editing and beta reading. A 19-year-old boyfriend sells his under aged girlfriend into a sex slavery ring in Seattle for $1,000. Daddy finds out about it, goes, and rescues his daughter and brings her safely back to Spokane.

Unfortunate Accident?

I saw the news report about the Alec Baldwin shooting. I heard how the armorer on the Rust movie set who was responsible for insuring all rounds are set and catalogued so that no live rounds are in the prop gun. Yes this is a very preventable and unfortunate accident, yet I have to wonder, if this was an accident, who ultimately is responsible for Halyna Hutchins death.

What A Place

This place I moved to is a house near a golf course in the central portion of Spokane also known as the Audubon Neighborhood. Unlike the house I lived and own, the neighborhood is far removed from the cares and concerns of crime, poverty and blight.

A Funny Thing Happened

Not really funny, sad is more to the point. The good news out of this experience these last few days is that I am back to work. On Tuesday I came home—Lilly and Tom’s home—from going to the library to look over my emails, send out new resumes to potential employers and reading the local news from the Twin Falls Times.

The Cat Box

That woman came home this evening smiling down at me while I was taking my daily cat nap. Being that I’m over 90 years old in cat years, I feel entitled to one or a dozen such naps in a day. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, I remember now, That human female came into my room and presented me with something inside a shopping bag.

Unusual Indeed

I applied for a writing job a while back through the Indeed job search site and I received a response for a job offer. I assumed it is legitimate. I even had an interview with this company on Thursday via Zoom. On Friday I received word that I had the job and I just needed to fill out some paperwork and then I could start training on the next Monday.

My Next Project

I don’t know if any of my loyal readers had ever read or saw the movie Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, but the story line is that the main character, Billy Pilgrim, exposed to the horrors of war, traveling through a time machine from past to present and then future to find a truth.