Author: Richard Solano

Author, Dad, Husband, Man of Faith and Fun.

Hope in Paradise

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment

Diamond head looked down upon this 12-year-old swimmer.

Not Waikiki. Best Hawaii beach photo I had was from Velzyland Beach on the North Shore of Oahu

Okay, to call me a swimmer is pushing it. I could swim but I was not match for the waves. Still, I was enjoying the clear water and warm breezes of Waikiki as I bobbed in the waves.

There were many people in the water, but I was off by myself. The other kids on our trip were more hyper than I. I was enjoying a calm moment by myself.

“Help!”

The calm was shattered by an elderly man and his young granddaughter.

He was fighting to keep them afloat in the riptide.

I moved toward them but quickly found myself at the edge of a trench dug by that same riptide that threatened them.

I knew my limits.

If I took one more step, there would be three needing rescue.

I reached toward the man. He reached toward me. We came within a foot of touching.

I stretched on my tiptoes and closed the gap to inches. But there was still a gap.

It was heart wrenching to see them struggle.

I didn’t have to watch for long.

The lifeguard swam past me as easily as walking. He had the pair to shore in no time.

I bobbed there feeling useless.

It occurs to me now, 47 years later, that I wasn’t completely useless.

I provided hope.

The man had someone to reach for, even if that someone fell short of being able to complete a rescue.

How often do you feel inadequate to help someone in their time of need?

You know your limitations and you know that they need more than you can provide.

They may need more that you can offer but that doesn’t mean that you can’t help. You can provide hope and direction to lead someone in need to someone who can meet their need.

If you see a need that you can provide, step up and provide it.

I you see a need that you cannot provide, step up and do what you can to get that person the help they need!

It’s good to know your limitations.

It’s better to do what you can right up to the edge of those limits.

Just don’t step into the rip tide when you can’t swim well.

Route 655

~ Richard Solano ~ 1 Comment

The back window of my 1968 Plymouth Satellite Station Wagon bore testimony to the many times I drove that dirt road as a teenager on the edge of manhood. The view through that dust covered pane may have been obscured but it made my path ahead clearer.

How does a city boy from the San Francisco Peninsula learn from a dirt road?

When I was 16, my parents moved us from Belmont, California to Spring Valley, Virginia. We actually lived on Route 604, another dirt road, but Route 655 was a much longer dirt road that had a deeper role in my coming of age.

The first time I drove down 655, I pulled to the edge to let another car pass.

I misjudged the edge.

My big old wagon with the black California plates was quickly stuck.

I walked to the nearest dwelling with lights on. A small shack of a house that looked like it was held up as much by prayer as by wood offered my only hope.

I stepped onto the porch in my flip-flips, shorts, tank-top, and coat. I was on my way to a Halloween party dressed as a beach bum. I’m not kidding. I really was.

An older man answered the door. He and his twenty something son looked like true hillbillies. They smiled when I explained my costume.

They helped me out of the ditch in no time and refused my offer of payment.

They were some of the nicest people I had met in my young life.

I learned not to judge people by their looks or situation.

I got a job at a farm on that road.

In fact, it was at the farm with the Halloween party – for the people whose car caused me to slide into the ditch. I never told them.

They were business owners from North Carolina who spent a lot of their time away from home. They needed someone to drive their kids and help take care of the farm.

That’s how, one day, I found myself on foot going down the middle of Route 655.

The neighbor’s bull had broken through the fence and I had to prod it back to the neighbor’s farm.

I was scared out of my wits, but I did it.

The bull was more than 10 times my size but it went where I directed and was soon back in the neighbor’s barn.

I learned a little country confidence.

My Plymouth had a similar dashboard to a popular TV car – the General Lee.

The Dukes of Hazzard always drove like their tails were on fire and no one complained but the inept and corrupt police in the show.

I somehow thought that’s how one could drive on dirt roads.

That was dumb.

One day a neighbor flagged me down and tore into me about going too fast. I was caught off guard. I knew I drove fast but had no idea that it upset people.

Yes I was clueless.

I apologized profusely and asked how fast I should take that road (there were no speed limit signs). I think they expected arrogance from me and were taken aback by my attitude.

I learned to try to see things from other’s perspectives.

My old wagon was in bad need of a tune-up the day I crawled it up a hill.

The top of the hill was blind.

The big Plymouth took up two-thirds of the one lane road.

The Ford pickup flying over the top of the hill took up two-thirds.

That math don’t add up!

I was stopped within a second of the sight.

The truck couldn’t stop.

My wide eyes saw the truck veer to my left.

A thick tree stopped it cold right next to me. It leaned steeply over the embankment.

The driver, a young man I vaguely knew, stumbled out and collapsed in pain on the road.

The sight of his passengers shocked me. It was two of the kids from the farm where I worked. The 10-year-old boy had a bloody face. The 13-year-old girl was screaming and holding her wrist.

There were flames under the hood!

They got out with a little help from me.

Thankfully, the flames died out.

I ran to their farm just up the road. As I called the rescue squad, their 16-year-old sister and her boyfriend rushed to the scene.

By the time I got back to the hill, the young couple was about to take the kids to the hospital. They refused to take the driver, a friend of the boyfriend. They were beyond angry.

The driver tried to blame me for the accident. No one but a couple of his friends believed him. I don’t think they believed him long.

I learned the results of unsafe driving.

I could go on about the lessons from that road.

  • Don’t listen to peer pressure egging you to go faster.
  • Make sure you have the right size chains before driving backroads in the snow.
  • Always make sure your spare tire is good.
  • Don’t fear the dark that far out in the country.
  • Ditches hide under leaves in the Fall.
  • Station wagons aren’t made for off-reading!

That last one wasn’t really on Route 655, but you get the point. These were just a few stories that happened on Route 655.

I dare say the two years of country life taught me more about living than the previous 16 in the suburbs!

The next time you’re tempted to complain about a route that takes you over a dirt road, slow down and listen. The road might just teach you something.

Close Encounter of the High Voltage Kind

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment
Southwest Virginia in the early ‘80s

 

It was just beginning to sprinkle as we started up the trail. Thinking the rain would cool off our hike on that hot August day, we happily hiked on,

blissfully ignorant

of what lay ahead.

I was one of thirty some 17-year-olds spending a week at Lynchburg College competing for scholarships. After a busy day of classes, this hike at Sharp Top on the Blue Ridge Parkway was just the diversion we needed.

Our steep mile and a half hike did indeed cool off. The sprinkles turned to rain.

We quickened our pace when we heard distant lightning. Someone said something about a cabin at the top.

The true downpour started as we approached the cabin. We all crammed into the small stone building. No one was brave or foolish enough to go out to the overlook just beyond the cabin.

We were young. We didn’t worry.

Besides, we knew there was a shuttle that would take us back down the mountain. We’d hike the quarter mile to the shuttle stop as soon as the lightning let up.

It didn’t let up.

If anything, it increased.

And the last shuttle of the day would be there soon.

Half of the people in the cabin decided they would stay put where it was safe.

I was not one of those people.

A dozen or so of us rushed out through the deluge.

I couldn’t see a thing. I just followed the person ahead of me. Lightning crashed every couple of seconds all around. I got soaked to the bone.

After a couple of minutes that seemed like a couple of hours, we made it to the bus shelter. I plopped my waterlogged self down on the bench on the far side of the shelter, glad to be safe.

Then it hit me.

Technically, it hit the shelter and the electricity ran through those of us on that far side of the bus shelter.

It was lightning.

Oh, and deafening thunder.

It was literally a pain in the rear. Very painful, in fact.

When it happened, a girl seated on the other side started screaming hysterically. Once she calmed, she explained that she saw us all light up and thought we would die.

The only casualty that I know of was my digital watch, which started flying forward in time. We were sore and soaked and had a new respect for thunderstorms.

As for those stayed in the cabin, the college had to send out another bus. They didn’t return until later in the evening.

Whether we played it safe or braved the storm, we each came home with quite the story to tell.

This story has found it’s way into many children’s and youth lessons. It even into Wil Clarey, The Impossible Summer (as told to Wil by his grandpa). My lessons and my books tend to be filled with stories like these. They tend to grab attention and illustrate a number of points.

Do you have stories?

Let ‘em out!

Write them and share them. If possible, teach with them.

Don’t let them fade in your memory.

Oh yeah, and don’t go outside in thunderstorms!

Happy New Year!

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment

It’s true. I haven’t written much here.

But I’ve been writing!

Here’s a little of what’s been happening –

As you saw in the last post, I completed a Christmas Story! There’s a link to it on the last post here and on my home page.

Second, about six hours ago, I completed the content edit of Wil Clarey: School of Hard Knocks! That is cause for celebration! I am considering posting an excerpt from that.

I’ll be moving on to Reymons next. I’ve been developing some interesting ideas for that so I can hardly wait to get them into words!

Finally, I have launched a new website to go along with a Facebook Group. That is the Walk in the Light Bible Study.

If you are interested in learning more about the Bible in a non-judgmental discussion forum, this may be the place for you. We’ll be reading the entire Bible in two years, highlighting and discussing verses as we go. You can find it at witlBible.com or search facebook for Walk in the Light Bible Study in Facebook Groups.

Don’t worry, I’m also working on

a new blog series

that should be fun and interesting.

Stay tuned!

The Shortcomings of Short Stories

~ Richard Solano ~ 1 Comment

 

I had a blast writing my latest Christmas story, The Star of Mystery.

But it was frustrating too!

I introduced several new characters without enough words to develop them. It was also the first time most people will read a compete story about Wil Clarey.

Let’s be honest,

5-6 thousand words is not enough to do justice to the subject of autism and still tell the story. You’ll just have to read the Wil Clarey series when it gets published.

On the positive side, I was able to write a complete story and edit it (with the help of a couple of beta readers) in the space of just three weeks. It was fast and furious fun!

The purpose of my Christmas short stories is not just to share the stories but to expand my platform.

To be frank, in order to get the Wil Clarey books published, I need a larger number of followers. I say this to encourage you to follow my Facebook and Instagram pages as well as this blog.

Feel free to share the link to my stories with anyone you think might be interested.

Keep an eye on this page as I will attempt to resume my weekly blogs now that my short story writing push is over.

In case you’re interested in my longer stories, here’s the latest.

  • Wil Clarey – The impossible Summer is complete and ready for professional editors.
  • Wil Clarey – School of Hard Knocks is 80% through content edit.
  • Wil Clarey – The Mystery at the Mill is complete in rough draft form.
  • Reymons – I will restart the rewrite in a couple of weeks when I am done with the School of Hard Knocks edit. Much of the middle of the book series was written when I realized that I needed to do a lot more background and character development. My current plan to make it a three book arc. Book one will be background and development to the lead characters up to the escape from Reymons (a massive city under what is now Humphrey’s Peak in Arizona). Book two will cover the adventure of our lead characters traveling to a haven at the coast through many surprise interactions with above ground cultures. Book three will be the return to and rescue of Reymons.

If my writing piques your interest, contact me to be a beta reader.

Until then, enjoy the short stories and blogs.

The Bristly Truth

~ Richard Solano ~ 1 Comment

 

I’m right at that point where the crazy itchiness is giving way to warm comfort.

I recently told one of my daughters that it was like a warm blanket was covering my chin. She didn’t understand. She thinks I should shave.

I’m doing a No-Shave November.

If you’re not familiar with it, that’s where men around the world go a month without shaving to highlight men’s health issues.

It would be a lie to say that was exactly what I was doing.

For one thing, I shaved this morning – but just those pesky hairs that pop up on my upper cheeks and earlobes. I know, weird, huh?

Also, I’m mainly using November as an excuse to see how my beard looks nowadays. I know it’s mostly grey and makes me look older. But I kinda like it.

I might just keep it. Stay tuned.

Don’t get me wrong, I think men’s health issues are important and if my not shaving reminds some men to get more proactive about their health, that’s great.

What I’m far more interested in is men’s mental and spiritual health.

We have become a society that measures its members by what people have rather than what they do.

There’s bumper sticker that says, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” It should say

“He who dies with the most toys dies.”

I read recently (in “The Men We Need” by Brant Hansen) about a Mouse Utopia. A social scientist set up an experiment where a group of mice were given everything they needed. They didn’t have to do anything to get food. Their enclosure was kept clean and safe. All they had to do was reproduce.

At first, they thrived. Then, they reached a peak population far below the capacity of their enclosure. The mice lost interest in everything, even reproduction. They turned violent, killing each other. Finally, the colony died off.

This happened over and over.

What went wrong?

The mice had no purpose. Their God-given instincts to find new food sources and struggle to survive were denied an outlet.

We’re not mice, but we have a God-given need for purpose.

In learning to write novels, one big thing I’ve learned is that there has to be a struggle or conflict or people will get bored and stop reading.

The same is true for people and especially men. We have been given a need to fight to survive and prosper. That includes working to support our families. But I believe it goes beyond that.

We have a need for a greater purpose – to make an impact on our world.

We have a tendency to try to fill that need with video games and sports. While there’s nothing wrong with those, they don’t do much for us. We need to make a real difference to feel fulfillment.

The bottom line is:

DO SOMETHING.

Step outside of your comfort zone and do something that will impact people outside of your normal sphere.

When you make an impact on this world, you’ll be amazed how much your efforts will impact you.

Not Yet!

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment

I love Christmas!

I’ll put up Christmas lights until they can be seen from space.

But I refuse to turn them on until the day after Thanksgiving!

A local radio station started playing Christmas music on November 11th

and I want to yell “STOP!”

Friends post pictures of their trees put up early

and I want to block them until December.

Walmart’s garden section is gone, replaced by a plethora of trees, lights, yard décor, and garlands.

Yes, I avoid that side of the store.

Did Scrooge infect me with a heart two sizes too small?

Did Rudolph punch me in the gut with his red snout?

No!

I just want to dwell in the attitude of

Thanksgiving.

This used to be a time that people celebrated the harvest. People would be truly thankful to God for the provision of food for the winter.

I know for many, this is a lean season. Inflation has hit hard at a time that many companies are downsizing. We are having to find ways to cut our budget.

But we still have so much to be thankful for.

I am reminded of a family I met years ago in Tijuana, Mexico. The mother worked at a mission to the poorest barrio. She invited our mission group to her home.

She was very proud of it. She prepared a simple dessert for us as we made our way in our fancy American cars into her neighborhood. It was on a hill, well above the flood zones that affected the barrio by the mission.

When we pulled up, we saw the plain cement block home with a metal roof. Upon entering, we were greeted by the bright colors of Mexican blankets covering the walls and the few seats.

The whole house was about the size of our living room.

She beamed as she welcomed us to her happy home.

I have also had customers who lived in grand homes with every luxury you can imagine.

And some of them were miserable!

What was the main difference?

Thankfulness.

That woman in Tijuana thanked God she no longer had to deal with floods, or a leaking roof. She had a job and food for her family. Life for her was awesome.

That wealthy customer always looked at what he didn’t have. He strove for the next big deal. He was all business. Sure, he had fun with all his toys, but they never satisfied.

Each of us has so much to be thankful for.

Do you have food for your next meal?

Do you have a place to sleep?

Do you have friends?

Do you have breath in your lungs?

If you answered yes to any of those, you have something to be thankful for!

So, before I get caught up in the excitement of the season of the Advent of Christ, I will dwell on my blessings.

Then, I’ll be thankful for the biggest blessing of all, God’s arrival on Earth to redeem humanity.

And then I’ll decorate the house until it looks like Santa’s elves are moving in.

I Don’t Understand!

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment

I spotted this list on a customer’s wall.

That’s a lot of missing stuff.

I’m only showing the bottom of the list because there are names attached to some of the solved items higher up.

It sounds like most of the missing items were misunderstandings.

Understanding might be the one thing most missing in relationships.

This group of co-workers often misunderstood where an item should be or what items they could take for their own use. This list brought that out into the open and avoided some hard feelings.

I am reminded of a time when I misunderstood my son.

Something was missing and all evidence pointed to him. He refused to admit it so I took a treasured item of his until he would confess.

I never found the missing item but I found my senses when he still maintained his innocence. You see, he is on the autism spectrum and finds it very difficult to lie.

He refused to confess because he was innocent! I was the one in the wrong and had to apologize and, of course, return his treasured item.

Now it’s easier for me to understand him but he still has a hard time understanding others. Autism often makes it difficult to recognize the subtleties of expression and inflection.

He has learned to recognize my sarcasm but still has a hard time reading faces.

And people have a hard time reading him. He’ll refuse to shake hands, not because he dislikes someone but because of a fear of germs and a lack of understanding of the importance of social norms.

Will we ever get to a place of everyone understanding one another perfectly?

Of course not!

What a boring world that would be.

But we can recognize that we don’t understand each other perfectly and not get so uptight at perceived anger, insults, and injustices.

I say we keep exploring the mysteries of human communication as we seek to understand each other.

And be quick to apologize and forgive.

Never is that more important than election season.

Many will read this on Election Day.

We each have our heart-felt political beliefs and tend to not understand how anyone can think differently and still be a good person.

I have news for you – they can.

They just think differently than us so we tend to misunderstand them.

And speaking of misunderstanding,

the first thing that popped into my mind when I read #24 on that list was

“to Candy Mountain”.

If you don’t get that reference you are truly blessed. If you must know, search for Charlie the Unicorn on YouTube (and don’t blame me).

Flaky Outlook

~ Richard Solano ~ 2 Comments

When I was a kid, snow was a thing of awe!

Growing up in Fresno, CA, I can recall only one time that it snowed at our home. All the kids went out into the yard to scrape together snowballs, build a small snowman, and have a snowball fight.

All the kids but me. I somehow managed to come down with a cold that day. Mom wouldn’t let me go outside.

Then we moved to San Mateo, near the coast and snow was a few hours’ drive away.

Now I live in Colorado and tend to take snow for granted.

Snow in the forecast conjures up visions of shoveling, bumper to bumper traffic, and fender benders.

I caught that snowflake above last Thursday at Eldora Ski Resort where they hope to open this week! My customer there pointed out the amazing flake shapes that were coming down. They’re tough to capture on a phone camera but they were really cool (literally).

Despite the awesome snowflakes,

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that winter is coming.

The short days and cold, achy temperatures get me down.

I’ve wondered before what advice I would give to my younger self. Maybe I should flip that script.

What would my younger self tell me about winter?

  • “You’re so lucky you just have to go outside to play in the snow.”
  • “If I could afford it, I’d put up a million Christmas lights, and leave them up all winter!”
  • “I bet it’d be fun to go sliding in your car around a snow-covered parking lot!”
  • “Mmmmm, hot chocolate!”
  •             “I can catch more snowflakes on my tongue than you!”

Maybe I’ll listen to my younger self this winter.

I’m certainly game for more Christmas lights. I’ve already had my first hot chocolate of the season. And if we get a big snowstorm, don’t be surprised if you see an even bigger snowman on out front lawn!

For now, I intend to enjoy these next few warm days before it really starts cooling off.

Pardon me while I go get the sleds ready while the garage is still warm…

The Perfect Edit?

~ Richard Solano ~ Leave a comment
Caution – red pen at work. (Also Spoiler Alert – don’t read manuscript if you don’t want spoilers).

 

As of a week and a half ago, I have written three books in the Wil Clarey Series. Books two and three are in rough draft form –

very rough.

Book One – The Impossible Summer is in much better shape. It is as thoroughly self-edited as possible. It is completely ready for professional editors.

So I thought.

In preparation for editing book two, School of Hard Knocks, I read through Book one with an eye toward maintaining continuity through the series. I even made a spreadsheet to list all the named characters and details about them (There are 34 named characters in The Impossible Summer at last count).

Of course, I read my paper manuscript with red pen in hand.

The red pen has a mind of its own. It found several poorly worded sentences, a few unneeded lines, and a handful of typos.

So much for “ready for professional edit.”

If you are a casual reader, you might not realize how many times most books are edited before publishing. I used to think that someone would proofread a manuscript and then it would be printed. That’s just the final step.

Here’s a few of the possible edits a manuscript will go through:

  • Developmental edit – This one can be painful. This type of edit may lead to major restructuring of the story.
  • Structural Edit – May be included with developmental edit. Looks at the flow of the presentation to make sure the reader can follow along.
  • Continuity edit (or fact checking) – I just did a bit of that with Book one. For instance, I realized that July 4th needed to fall on a Tuesday to stay consistent with the calendar I chose for books two and three. It can also include checking for consistency in character names and ages, layout of settings, etc.
  • Copy edit – checks for errors in grammar and spelling.
  • Proofread – checks for typos.

Some edits may be combined or split to suit the publisher and the book. I’ve seen about as many interpretations of editing as I’ve seen articles on the process.

The bottom line is, a good book is the work of the author and several others.

Just like a lawyer representing himself has a fool for a client, the author who self-edits beyond the first couple of edits has a fool for an editor.

As I don’t have the cash to lay out for a series of professional edits, I am praying for a traditional publisher. In the meantime, realize that any excerpts you may see here or at WilClarey.com may not be as they get published.

I promise you that I will not publish whole books without completing the editing process. I’m not that cruel.

Okay, maybe I’m a little cruel.

These blogs and my Christmas stories are self edited.

I hope you enjoy them anyway!