The title for this mornings post has several connotations. One, it is indicative of how I view the status of the battles fought in the past few days. Two, it is indicative of how insanely busy the schedule has been for most of this year (my fault).
The current book project has been a research nightmare and as a result, progress has been glacial in speed. Meanwhile negotiations are commencing for the next project, promotion for Travel Route 66 has started to taper off, promotion for the Route 66 Illustrated Historic Atlas is about to kick into high gear, the schedule for appearances and signings that will accompany the trip to Cuba is filling rapidly, the day job that supports the writing habit continues to provide a paycheck but at the cost of ever increasing frustration and erosion of self esteem, and the consultation work for two tour companies is in a holding pattern with a flurry of activity about to be unleashed.
Resultant of name association with Route 66, I have received an incredible array of bizarre offers of compensation in exchange for endorsement (a llama if I will lend my presence to print and media advertisement, and endorse a llama farm as a destination) and been courted by shadowy business developers, and have been privileged to meet some of the most fascinating people. I have also made an array of international friendships, and been presented with a number of exciting opportunities, most of which have tremendous potential but little or no chance of bearing fruit in the near future, or at least until next year.
Case in point, a startup company in Phoenix claims to be on the cusp of unleashing a product that will be a boon to the Route 66 business community. But after months of discussions, and the receipt of countless emails, they have yet to be able to provide anything more than crude contracts that don’t pass muster or provide clarity, vague generalities, and a grandiose use of name dropping.
Another Phoenix based company has tried to sell me on the merits of a Route 66 based pyramid scheme worthy of Ponzi himself. And you don’t want to get me started on the number of people claiming to have the interest of the Route 66 community as their motivating factor for launching a doubtful business endeavor.
The increasing popularity of Route 66 makes it a magnet for dreamers, schemers, charlatans, snake oil salesmen, well intentioned but poorly prepared visionaries, hard working people who sincerely wish to contribute to the preservation and development of the Route 66 community while finding a more meaningful way of making a living, suckers, photographers, artists, and some of the most wonderful people a person could ever hope to meet.
Now, with frustrations properly vented, here is a quick snapshot of the past week now designated as history, and a look ahead to the week labeled future.
The previous seven days were a blur. An intense week at the office with the prerequisite short staff, and opportunities to share dinner and delightful conversation with friends from the Netherlands and Australia were the bookends. In between were family issues, research, and a frustrating consultation project that remains in the pending category after months of discussions, negotiations, and planning.
The weekend and the week ahead looks as though it will be most interesting. This morning will be consumed with errands, and the rest of the weekend holds promise to be quite memorable. In addition to writing, we will be taking care of ten week old master Nathan, the newest addition to the family, for a few days.
The week ahead looks as though it will unfold like this but there is the distinct possible of sudden and dramatic change. The weather prediction is for epic rains on a scale large enough to inspire Noah. The there is the office (a replay of last week) with the anxiety of pending changes of a dramatic nature, the pending consultation project (see above), and assorted family issues.
Next weekend my dearest friend and I take to the road as a means of escape, and to celebrate one of the most momentous occasions in my life, our anniversary. As a weekend away hasn’t happened since the Crown King affair in March, we are long overdue.
I am also hoping to be able to share some exciting developments before the end of next week. At this time, however, all I can say is stay tuned for details.
The wackos do come out of the woodwork, don't they?