I'm very excited to have a guest post today from Dannie Hill, who claimed this spot when he donated to the Indies Unite for Joshua Indiegogo campaign. Welcome, Dannie!
A Writer’s Life in Thailand
I’m
excited about doing a guest post at JELLO WORLD with J. Lea Lopez!
Thank you, kind lady.
I’m
an American writer and I’ve been living in Thailand for the past 9
years with my beautiful wife. We have a small farm where we grow
tropical and not so tropical fruits, veggies, and main crop of either
corn or tapioca. I have also published 3 novels and have a new one
coming out very soon.
Many
people ask me, “Why Thailand?” The answer is: I needed to get
away from all the hustle, bustled, electronics and decision making.
My brain needed a break. Also my wife was born in Thailand and I had
kept her away for many years raising a family and caring for a
wonderful husband… me. I have wanted to take her home for a while,
but the honest truth is I did it more for me than her. One of the
things I’ve learn here in Thailand is honest thoughts.
Many
foreigners who come here and to other exotic lands seek out
communities of foreigners to live near. Me? I came determined to
learn the language (or die trying) and just get away from it all for
a while. I live in a rural area where I’mit
when it comes to foreigners. That while
has lasted nine years so far. I can speak Thai now. I don’t claim
that I can stand up and deliver a speech about the meaning of life
but I do well enough to get along with everyone.
I’ve
always led a simple life—starving artists tend to do that—so the
culture shock wasn’t a major player. The hardest thing that I still
haven’t learned to do is stop waving or speaking to nearly everyone
I pass. I’m a Southerner and I tend to talk rather than think in
many situations. My wife got in the habit of walking behind me—way
behind me—so she wouldn’t blush all the time. Over time my
neighbors have learned the American ‘wave’ and laugh at my
antics. My wife even walks beside me now. Yeah.
Thailand
is known as The Land of Smiles and it is a befitting name. These
wonderful people take life as it comes to them and always seem happy.
I think it’s the heat. I love to go to the morning markets and
watch the beautiful women gliding along buying fresh vegetables and
everything necessary for the day. I walk around talking to the Mea
Ka,
the sellers, and Lukka,
the buyers, and just enjoy myself.
Dannie and Sam the cat
I
often ride my motorcycle out into the country just to see where the
road leads. I usually end up in a small village where white guys are
a rare treat. I always find a gathering place where the older men and
women socialize and introduce myself. It takes a few minutes for them
to realize I am speaking Thai and then the fun begins. The others of
the village come to see the foreigner speaking Thai. The children are
always shy at first, but after a while they try their best to wring
out the secrets of my being with squeals and laughter. I have to
admit it's a big ego boost for me. In the States I’d be just
another old man, but here in Thailand I’m special. I do love it
here, living with the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.
As
a writer, the quieted sounds of English allow my daydreams to come to
life in words. There is such a peace here my muse is happy and words
rush out faster than I can write them down. Just ask my editor! I
can write back in the States but it’s an effort to find the peace I
need. In Thailand it’s just a morning away.
I
was in a war two countries away, lived in Budapest for a short time,
lived in the Marshall Islands for two years and visited a number of
countries, and I must say Thailand is my favorite for the people, the
beauty of the land and the food. It’s a place I know you would
enjoy.
To learn more about Dannie, check out his blog here, or learn more about his books here.
There's been a lot going on lately. Between Mother's Day, this guest blog post, the death of my husband's grandmother, and a friend's beautiful beach wedding all within four or five weeks, love has been on my mind. I've also been playing this song over and over again:
There's too many things I haven't done yet
There's too many sunsets I haven't seen.
You can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down
You would've thought by now
I'd have learned something.
I made up my mind when I was a young girl
I've been given this one world,
I won't worry it away.
Now and again I lose sight of the good life
I get stuck in a low light
Then love comes in
How far do I have to go to get to you?
Many the miles, many the miles.
How far do I have to go to get to you?
Many the miles
Send me the miles
I'll be happy to
follow you.
That's just the first part of the lyrics, but it fits me so well it's scary. Although I have those dark moments, I tend to worry very little. Sometimes the only thing I worry about is whether I should be worrying more. Then love comes in. I think my lack of worry comes from an abundance of love. I see it everywhere. I feel it everywhere.
Love is one of those tricky things. I had an email conversation with a friend about this recently. We try to quantify and qualify our love. We label it and separate it, careful not to mix the different types because... what? We're afraid of the implications of love, I think. We're afraid of what it means to admit--to ourselves or anyone else--that we love someone. If you're married or seeing someone, what does it mean to love someone else? I love him like a brother. I love her like I love all of my closest friends. Labeling it a different type of love feels safer. Loving someone doesn't mean you want to jump in bed with them, or marry them. It can mean those things, of course, but not always. We create this division of love in an attempt to define relationships and stake claims on each other's hearts.
We separate love into compartments and say It's okay to give X amount of this type of love, but only to one person. Or We can give a lot of this other type of love to all kinds of people because it's different, and it's not love love. And also, I will feel threatened by this type of love from this person, but not that type of love from that person.
But you know what? It's ALL love.
I'm not saying there aren't different types of love. The way I love my husband feels a little different than the way I love my kid brother. Or the way I love some of my friends. And yet there's something the same about it, too. A sweetness. A blissful feeling. An indescribable something that makes me happy whenever I think of a loved one.
I love a lot of people. I've always loved easily. I've debated whether it's a selfless tendency or a selfish one, because I can't deny that it feels good to open my heart. That doesn't really matter for today's post, though, because the point is still the same.
Love begets love.
Our capacity for love is bigger than we give ourselves credit for. Once you've given it, you can choose not to give any more, but you can never take back what you've already released into the world. Acknowledging, accepting, expressing love doesn't take away. Not from you, not from anyone else you love. It just makes room for more love to grow, which you then can give again.
There is another point to this, besides me just waxing poetic about love. I've been involved with a project the past couple months, and I know some people may not understand why it's so important to me. But the answer is love.
Indies Unite For Joshua is a worldwide group of independent authors, publishers, filmmakers, and artists rallying to support a fellow writer.
Joshua is the 21-year old son of
author, Maxwell Cynn. Max writes speculative fiction, science fiction,
and romance. His son has been diagnosed with Acute T-cell Lymphoblastic
Leukemia. The cancer has invaded every part of his body: brain; spleen;
liver; lymph nodes; and he has a mass in his chest. Joshua has had to
suspend his studies while undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and will
not be able to graduate this semester. With three-and-a-half years of a
4.0 GPA toward a degree in philosophy, his peers and professors consider
him brilliant, as of course, does his father. Joshua would have been
the first person in Max's family to graduate college.
I donated a guest blog spot to the campaign perks, and I recorded a short video to encourage support for the cause. Not to mention the tweeting and posting on Facebook that you may have noticed. Here's the thing, though.
Like most people involved in Indies Unite for Joshua, I've never actually met Joshua, or his dad. I know his dad from online communities like Twitter, and I think he's a great writer. I consider him a friend. As I say in my video, I care what happens to him and his family. How can I feel so strongly for someone I don't "know"?
Love.
I'm not a religious person. I don't pray. That has always been a foreign concept to me. What I do is love. I let it fill me up, I seek it out, I give it away.
To Joshua, and to David (Max) and Tricia: I love you guys! You are in my thoughts, and I'm sending your family all the loving vibes I can muster.
Now how about you? Are you ready to open yourself up to a bit of love? All it takes is a share. A tweet. A post on Facebook. If you're able, a couple dollars. One supporter has been giving two bucks a day. Could you do the same? We have 10 days and $1,100 dollars to go to meet our goal of $10,000. Click the Metallica baby picture above, or the widget in the top right sidebar to go to the Indiegogo site to donate.
For the love of Joshua, what can you do?
Back to the Sara Bareilles song from the start of this post: How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the miles. Send me the miles, and I'll be happy to.
Joshua, when you're better, send me the miles. I'll come down and buy you and your parents a round of drinks. Or two. :-)
The day is barely half over and I've been happily surprised at the number of people taking a moment to wish me happy birthday on Facebook and elsewhere. It has been very sweet, especially since a number of these people are folks I know only through social media and networking as a writer. I've spoken often about my love of the writing community, sites like Agent Query Connect, and all the fun and support I get on Twitter. It amazes me every day how well I can get to know and care for people whose faces I only know from their online avatars. And I'm touched by your birthday wishes for me today.
I have just one birthday wish, and that's for everyone in my extended "family" - my network of writers, readers, and friends - to support a young man in the fight of his life. Let me tell you Joshua's story.
Just one month ago, Maxwell Cynn shared a very personal revelation on his blog: His 21-year-old son, Joshua, was diagnosed with acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. Two days later, his heart stopped. Thankfully, the ICU doctors and nurses were able to bring Joshua back and he is currently undergoing chemo and treatment for his cancer. Read Max's heart wrenching post here.
Many of Max's friends were touched by the news and one in particular, Eden Baylee, sprang into action to help. She set up an IndieGoGo campaign, Indies Unite for Joshua, to help raise money for Joshua's treatment and other expenses. At the time of his diagnosis, Joshua was half a semester away from graduating with a degree in philosophy, with a 4.0 GPA. He had to leave school to enter treatment. The Indies Unite for Joshua campaign is seeking to raise $10,000 by the end of May to help Max and his wife offset the cost of Joshua's treatment and school loans.
Now back to my birthday wish, and all of you. Max is one of those online-only friends of mine that I mentioned above. He's always been exceptionally sweet and kind, and he's a long-time supporter of my writing endeavors. He's a writer as well, and his books are a great read (thought-provoking, smart, and sexy on top of all that!) My wish is for all of you do one small thing to help Max's son Joshua.
How can you help? The obvious answer is donate. You can claim lots of great perks for different donation levels (starting at just $10), ranging from ebooks to guest blog spots to professional manuscript editing. Eden also recently secured the support of Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and you'll be able to see those contributions on the campaign page starting Monday, February 27th.
If you are unable to contribute financially, or would like to do more, there are plenty of options. Emotional and moral support is just as important. Here is what you can do:
Snag the widget from the Indies Unite for Joshua page and display it on your blog or website (like I have in my sidebar here). Click "embed" on the campaign home page for the code for the widget.
Share the campaign on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and any other social network you belong to. Please use the hashtag #IndiesUnite4Joshua when tweeting. It'll help IndieGoGo see who's sharing the campaign and hopefully get more exposure that way.
Re-tweet, re-share, re-post as often as you feel comfortable! If you see me (or someone else you follow) tweeting about it, re-tweet it for us!
Visit Max's blog to read more about his brave son Joshua and leave a comment of support and encouragement.
Tweet Joshua and let him know you're pulling for him!
If you would like to help in some other way that I haven't mentioned, contact me and I can put you in touch with the appropriate people.
If every one of my blog followers, Twitter followers, and Facebook friends shared this story, and even just two or three of their friends/followers/readers did the same, that would be a few thousand new people who would hear Joshua's story. Somewhere in that few thousand, I know there are plenty of people who would like to help, and with that help, I know we can reach our goal.
