Showing posts with label Baltimore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baltimore. Show all posts

Friday, September 29, 2023

Back on Track

Frankie here. I'm late today because I'm traveling with a couple of friends. We spent two days in Baltimore and saw the Orioles play. Now, we are in Delaware. 

I have to admit that was the first and only live baseball game I had ever seen. In fact, it was the only entire baseball game I have ever seen. But in my Lizzie Stuart series, Lizzie's partner John Quinn (a former military police officer and homicide cop) is a baseball fan. Because of that I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see a real baseball game. The friend who is a baseball nerd explained the rules to the other two of us. 

I know it was me because the fans in the stadium were jumping to their feet to cheer the Orioles on every few minutes. But since I was neutral about who won, I couldn't get too excited -- at least not about the game. As we writers are prone to do in any situation, I watched and listened to the people around me. And by the time the game ended -- as I was walking out surrounded by people -- I had an idea for a short story. I'd had to check my shoulder bag in, store it in a locker because it was larger than the size allowed, so I had hurried out as the game was ending to retrieve it. That gave me even more time to look and listen. 

I also had time to do some initial Baltimore research for the 1939 historical novel that I'm working on. In fact, the more I work on my thriller, the more I'm inclined to think of writing a nonfiction book about crime and violence in America that year. That would be a way of making use of the research that I can't weave into my novel. 

I need to make another trip to Baltimore after I have contacted the reference librarian at the museum I want to visit. While I'm here in Delaware I want to get some work done. There is also a museum I'd like to visit if I have a chance. 

I'm feeling that I'm back on track because I have a new laptop. I bought it on Tuesday because I had managed to destroy the laptop that I'd had only for two or three years. First, I nodded off when I was sitting on the sofa working late one evening. I woke up as my laptop was falling from my lap. I broke the hinge on one side of the monitor when I grabbed it. My computer guy repaired it when I finally had the monitor dangling by a wire. But then I somehow lost a brace on the side, and it went dead when I couldn't make the charger fit tightly in the hole provided. 

At the same time, I was having a problem with my desktop at the office. ITS had discovered my computer was 6 years old and out of warranty. I was told to get a new computer ASAP. Our staff did that, but then we had a problem transferring the files over and needed help from ITS uptown.

Before I left, we got the desktop back up and running. Then I couldn't get the software to work. . .but now I hope that I am finally back on track. Cross your fingers for me.