Always Your Last, Until It’s Not

When you are young, you are always focused on your “Firsts.”

That exuberant perspective and unbridled energy of the subjunctive mood – the potential of an imagined or hypothetical event finding fruition.

What will it feel like? Pure anticipation.

First day of school, first cigarette, first sip of alcohol, first non-sibling street fight, first kiss, first time experiencing sexual contact.

That list of “Firsts” got even more creative when I hit high school.

My appreciation of “Firsts” became even more energized when some childhood friends shuffled off this mortal coil along the way. I realized there were no more “Firsts” before them. Everything behind them became their “Lasts.” The idea of that broke my heart.

I tried to capture a lot of that perspective in Finding Jimmy Moran (which, for the record, is totally fiction). But please don’t leap ahead to that novel, read my already published books in order or you will miss the interactive nuances that turn a good read into a great read.

Given Claire’s Theorem – there can only be five – I always anticipate that today may be a blog reader’s “first” time reading The Wise Novelist blog, so, for the benefit of any newbie, I’ll list those books here:

The Wise Ass

An Alien Appeal

Kissing My Ass Goodbye

Finding Jimmy Moran

Where The Ley Lines Meet

And in following this theme of Firsts, just so the first-time blog reader has the complete body of work, I’ll add the latest two stand-alone novels, arriving as “firsts” in early 2027:

Free R.A.D.I.C.A.L. (January 14, 2027)

Spark of Faith (May 20, 2027)

Of course, now that I’ve survived this long, I find my perspective focusing more upon the idea of “Lasts.” I’m not obsessed with the concept in a morbid way. Just accepting a realization that my generation has reached an age where the promise of tomorrow naturally brings with it two fingers crossed behind fate’s back.

This paradigm shift comes at a time when my body and life have slowed down. That’s good, because now I have the time to appreciate every moment, every birthday, every holiday, every special occasion, every chance meeting of a stranger in the street or random phone call, writing, sex, conversations with Claire, nocturnal walkies with the Beagle Brothers, feeding the mules and the feral cats, shoveling shit and experiencing the wonderful supernatural events that are often so easily overlooked, because one never knows if it will be the last time. It makes you want to fully engage in and pay extra attention to those moments. Enjoy each one as they occur. So that’s the plan.

Now, given that I genetically favor my maternal West of Ireland Burke lineage, and both of those grandparents lived into their late 80s, and even my mother, with three open heart surgeries and record-breaking blood sugar level adult-onset diabetes, managed to cross into her ninth decade before crossing the veil, suggests that I have plenty of time left on this energy plain of existence.

The fact that I gave up alcohol when I turned 30 and meat when I turned 50, can only improve my chances of experiencing at least another decade.

So, I intend to start a new writing project in the spring of 2027 and would like to publish at least 10 novels before I’m sated. Until that time, I’m treating SOF as my potential last. Savoring it while I put it to bed.

I’m also subjunctively manifesting bringing my existing written works to film, by sheer force of will, because I fully understand that the world is filled with people who just do not read (MOSTLY MEN), who therefore will only experience my masterful manipulations of their emotions and very dark humor when it appears before them on the big (Theatre) and/or small (Netflix, Amazon) screen. So, that is one more “First” that I intend to stick around for. Ma raison d’être! I hear that for writers, that experience is better than sex.

Well, my fine, five readers, assuming I’ve gotten that number back up to five, the good news is that unfairly maligned Monday is behind you, and Tuesday will grease the wheels that will carry you still productive citizens toward the weekend. But try not to rush it too quickly, because there’s nothing worse than a wished-away life.

And no matter what else appears on our plates, let us make today a great one.

Oh, and happy 66th Birthday to my youngest sibling, John. May all of your birthday wishes come true!