Some people ask why I go away to California to write. I still talk to people in Florida about business issues and problems, just long distance. So what’s the big deal?
First, as my license plate says, I’m a runaway. When I was three-years old, I saw older children going to the bus stop on the highway, two-hundred feet away from my home. To me, the little green wooden shelter looked like a great playhouse where they stayed until the big yellow bus took them away for unimaginable adventures.
For someone shorter than a kitchen table to make an impression on Big Kids meant that I needed some kind of clout. So I packed up some chocolaty rations from the cookie jar, and a few pieces of my mother’s jewelry: an opal necklace and some sparkly gold bangle bracelets. The boys quickly snapped the cookies from my chubby little hands and gobbled them up. When a smile appeared, I figured I was doing great. The wide-eyed girls ogled my trinkets, but hesitated. After exposure to my charm and persistence, they gratefully accepted the gifts. Then before the bus came and whisked everyone away for new adventures, I heard the faint, though desperate sound of my mother’s voice.
Rather than being pleased at my outing, she gave me a scolding. The jewelry didn’t matter, though she was happy that Rufus, the gardener, found a few pieces I’d dropped. What did bother her was that while busses on the highway did stop, drivers in a rush to get through town did not. I could have gotten hurt.
I felt woefully misunderstood. I only wanted the adventure of meeting new people and seeing new places. How could that be wrong? Nevertheless, Mom had made her point, and I didn’t do it again.
While adventure is my first reason for going away to write, the second overshadows it completely. Remember the phrase: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Quite simply, you die of heat exposure if you don’t. Today that means stress and overwhelm can get the best of me. In California, surfers use the term “sanity go out.” The “going out” helps me regain my sanity, and thus allows me perspective for the book.
These days, my non-techie brain needs to understand the unfathomable: websites, blogs, and social networking sites – and so many documents and stories about the past that it practically becomes my present. The book is not just about Hibbard, but also the many unsung men and women who helped him create a city that we now take for granted. I need to understand their lives, cares, fears, and underlying motivations to do their story justice.
Nevertheless, King of Casselberry will all be worth the effort, because it’s not just about a man, a town, and an era in history. Hibbard Casselberry’s story will always be relevant to those who are willing to face overwhelming odds to pursue their dream – whatever it is.
Please visit my website www.kingofcasselberry.com
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