Writing in Chicago

I am back in Chicago.  Last time I looked out the window on a tree with naked branches shaking in the icy wind.  Now those branches have buds that are unfurling into bright green leaves. I can still see the through the branches to the brick building across the street.  Birds zoom in and out of the tree and spend a few moments on my front porch.

Daffodils are blooming in the space in front of my building.  But just as it seems that spring is here, the weather report mentioned snow for the weekend.  Really?

Every flight is an adventure.  This time there was a woman with a large black dog, maybe a labrador.  It wasn't wearing a service animal vest and she took it on the plane, so I assume it was an emotional support animal.  She had an aisle seat on the other side a few rows up from me.  The dog was laying with its head in the aisle.  So the flight attendant had to move her to a middle seat further back so the dog's head wouldn't stick out.  Of course, it must have interfered with the leg room of the person sitting next to her.  Maybe the dog could offer emotional support to both of them.

I noticed a man with a small child on his lap in the middle seat across the aisle from me.  It didn't take long for the little boy to start playing with the tray table -- opening and closing it and banging it against the seat in front of him.  When that got boring he started sitting on the tray table and bouncing up and down.

The father seemed clueless, but I can't really blame him.  When my son was small he kicked the seat in front of him on a flight and it never occurred to me that it was bothering the person in front of him until we were getting off the plane and the woman let me know.  As an aside, it was kind of pointless then and I wondered why she didn't tell me when I could do something about it.

Anyway, the person sitting in front of the bouncing toddler had la caste on his leg.  I had watched him limp to his seat on crutches.  Someone had to help him find a space for the crutches in the overhead and fetch them if he needed to get up.  And now the poor guy had a kid banging on his seat.  He must have taken it in stride because I never saw him turn around.  Lucky for him the toddler finally went to sleep.

As for me-- I watched a movie on the screen in front of me.  I never go to movies anymore and don't even watch them much on TV, so this was an opportunity to see a movie I wouldn't see otherwise.  I ended up watch "Can You Ever Forgive Me."  It was based on a true story and was about a writer who forged letters from famous writers and then sold them.  She was a really unpleasant character, but somehow hooked me in enough that I watched the whole movie. I could not relate to her at all except for the part about her loving he cat.  She was angry and nasty to everyone.  She seemed completely joyless.  I have to hand it to Melissa McCarthy.  She is an excellent actress and absolutely became the part.  I countered the dark movie by watching the beginning of "Date Night" in the last hour before the plane landed.  I tend to laugh outlaid, so I had to keep my lips together.  

The seats are short on room, but I have a small purse and put my computer bag above so I manage quite comfortably.

I look at this as my own personal writer retreat.  Though between phone calls and a lot of texts, I'm not really alone.  Still I was able to whip out my laptop this morning and dive into writing without a lot of things to do first as is what happens at home.  I am hoping to churn out the pages while I'm here.

I also had an idea for another series.  It mixes things I love with murder.  What could be better.

The thing about writing is that it is more than the time you sit at the keyboard.  At least, I need thinking time.  Time for the story to swirl around me and time for the characters to talk to me.  I have that here.  An when I do watch some TV,  my hands are not idle.  I'm working on the two projects for the book.

I will go out for walks.  I hope the lilacs are in bloom.