Create Art Podcast

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

13 Nov 2021    daily count 1745 cumulative count 19585 

When Carl got back to the kitchen, Myra was still sitting at the table reading her book and looking at a piece of paper. She wasn’t too good at hiding it, but Carl was to far away to read what was on the paper. The smell of chicken wasn’t turning his stomach anymore, so he drank more lukewarm coffee. Carl and Myra stayed silent and listened to the jazz coming from the TV. Carl hummed a few times when he knew the song and Myra giggled softly when he did that. When the timer went off loudly and startled Carl. Myra forgot to tell him that she had set the timer for the rice she was cooking. Carl jumped and exclaimed, “What the heck was that?” 

Myra ran over to him and tried to calm him down by holding him and singing softly. The song she was singing was the same song he sang to her earlier in the car. Carl’s heart slowly came back to normal as Myra’s singing got softer and softer until it finally stopped when he was back to normal.  

“See the cashier was right, coffee after 10 AM makes you jittery,” said Myra.  

“I guess so, that was for the rice right,” asked Carl? 

“Yeah, I used to make rice all the time for, well, him. I got pretty good at it. I used cream of mushroom one time and it was delicious. Do you have any condensed soup we can use,” asked Myra? 

“When I was in college, I used to do the same thing and when I had some extra money, I would get fresh mushrooms and put that in the mix with soy sauce. The cream of mushroom can is in the pantry. So, you aren’t saying your dad now, you are saying, him,” asked Carl? 

“He’s not thinking about me,” said Myra. 

“How do you know that it sounds to me like you are having some feelings about what happened and that is normal, but he is your dad,” said Carl. 

“Dead men can’t think,” said Myra in a low gravelly voice. 

“Why do you think your dad is dead,” asked Carl? 

“I can’t feel him anymore. I just know he is dead, and you do too,” replied Myra matter of factly. 

 Carl was taken aback by her candor. It seemed like he wasn’t talking to a nine-year-old anymore. He stayed quiet for some time when he heard the front door open. It was Cheryl and she looked beat after a long day.  

“Hey guys, I can smell that chicken from the hallway, smells great. I take it that’s dinner,” said Cheryl as she walked through the living room and towards the kitchen. “What’s up, why are you two so quiet,” she asked? 

Carl looked at Cheryl intensely, “she knows he is dead,” Carl replied. 

“Who’s dead,” Cheryl asked. 

“My dad, I just don’t feel him anymore and I know he must be dead, so he is not coming back to take me to his house,” replied Myra.  

“I’m so sorry Myra. Carl what do you know about this,” asked Cheryl? 

“He, he is dead Myra, I just found out earlier today while we were at Nate’s house,” replied Carl. Cheryl looked at him questioningly. “I was going to talk with Cheryl about it tonight and we were going to decide the best way to approach the news. Cheryl didn’t know because I hadn’t told her yet.” Cheryl went over to Myra and held her. Tears came from Cheryl but not Myra.  

“He left me, I’m not sad. He didn’t want me. I’m glad that you two have taken me in though, and that we can visit Uncle Nate whenever we want,” replied Myra.  

Carl went into the living room and turned off the television. The sound of chicken cooking on the stove and Cheryl sobbing were the only noises in the apartment. Myra stood up and mixed the rice and cream of mushroom together. Cheryl looked pleadingly at Carl to do something, and he walked to the stove and flipped the chicken over and sauteed the veggies until they were done. Myra pulled out the plates and silverware and set the table as Cheryl looked on and Carl finished cooking the chicken. He took the pan off the stove and started serving the chicken and veggies on everyone’s plate. Cheryl went to the bedroom to change her clothes and freshen up. When she returned a few minutes later Carl and Myra were sitting at the table quietly talking. Cheryl grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the table to join in the conversation.  

“Myra, if you want to talk about what you are feeling, we are both here for you. I haven’t lost my father, but I have lost some close relatives in the past and I know it’s not good to hold in your feelings,” said Cheryl quietly.  

“I’m not sad, I’m just not feeling anything right now. I mean I was very happy at Uncle Nate’s house today and I am happy to be with both of you, I just don’t feel anything about my dad right now since he left me,” said Myra.  

Cheryl and Carl looked at each other while quietly eating their food. Myra finished her plate and dropped the bones in the trash before she took her plate to the sink. Carl’s queasiness was coming back, and he didn’t finish his food. He took his plate to the sink and pulled out some plastic containers to place his leftovers in. Cheryl was the last to finish her food and she dropped her bones in the trash and put her plate in the sink.  

“Do you want to talk Myra, or maybe you want to watch a movie. Your choice,” asked Carl.  

“I think I’d like to watch a movie, something funny please,” said Myra.  

“Any suggestions,” asked Carl to Cheryl? 

“Yeah, I haven’t seen that cartoon movie with all the little guys, I forget what it’s called. That will probably give us some laughs,” said Cheryl.  

“Okay, everyone grab a seat and I’ll get that up and running. Popcorn,” replied Carl? 

“Naturally, you can’t take a girl to a movie and not get popcorn,” said Cheryl. Carl turned on the TV and picked the movie that Cheryl had suggested and started it. He went back to the kitchen and started to make microwave popcorn. As he waited for that to finish, he loaded up the dishwasher and set it to run overnight. Then he pulled out a large mixing bowl and when the timer went off, this time he didn’t jump and emptied the popcorn in the bowl. When he placed the bowl on the coffee table he went back to the kitchen and grabbed three cans of soda and put them in next to the popcorn. Carl saw Myra laying down with her head in Cheryl’s lap. Her eyes were half open, but they showed the tell-tale signs of a child about to drift off to sleep. Cheryl put her fingers to her mouth in a shushing motion. He carefully sat down next to Myra and Cheryl so as not to disturb. He put his arm on the back of the couch and stretched his arm, Cheryl did the same and grabbed his hand. They looked at each other from time to time during the movie and looked down at Myra to see if she was still awake. Myra occasionally grabbed some popcorn and a drink of soda from time to time, but when the movie was done, she hadn’t finished her drink. When the credits were rolling, she got up an emptied her drink n the sink.  

“I’m going to bed; I’m really tired. Thank you for the movie Cheryl it was really good,” said Myra as she headed to her bedroom.  

“Hey dear, if you want to talk, we are here for you, either one of us,” said Carl. “Do you want to hang out with Carmine tomorrow?” 

“What time should I be up,” replied Myra? 

“We would need to be out the door by 5 AM to make it there by six since she is taking Seth and Rachel to school tomorrow. I need to go into work. Cheryl what does tomorrow look like for you,” asked Carl? 

“I got her, we will have a girl’s day out tomorrow and get our hair and nails done. I need to do the evening shift tomorrow night, starts at about 4 PM, can you get back here by then or pick her up at the shop,” asked Cheryl? 

“I think that will work out fine, I’ll pick her up at the shop. I get out of the office by three thirty. I should be by there no later than four,” replied Carl. 

“Okay, sleep in as late as you want Myra, if you need anything we will be right next door,” Cheryl said.  

“Alright good night then, see you in the morning,” said Myra as she left for bed.  

They waited for Myra to close the door tot eh bedroom and then gave her a few more minutes to settle in. Carl took the bowl of popcorn and sodas to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. He pointed to an empty glass while looking at Cheryl, she nodded her head yes. He put some ice cubes in both glasses and filled them up with water. The clock on the microwave said ten thirty but Carl knew he wouldn’t be getting much sleep. He knew he’d need to fill Cheryl in on what Nate and Vince talked about and they would have to read the file that Vince sent. Before he sat down Cheryl stopped him. 

“I think you need to get the diary out. With her father being dead, I think that qualifies as a momentous event that should be documented,” said Cheryl.  

“Who gets to write in the diary, I mean, I am wondering if the curse only affects the writer and not the spouse or significant other. If that’s the case, then it should be me that writes in the diary since I am the one closest to death anyhow. Also, I have enough life insurance to take care of both of you,” said Carl. 

“We are in this together, I told you that from the start. We are both going to write in the diary, go grab it,” replied Cheryl.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

12 Nov 2021    daily count 1712   cumulative count 17840 

“I don’t know if I sleepwalk or sleep talk and as far as that guy’s name, I have no idea who he is,” replied Myra.  

“Okay I know that was scary, it was scary for me as well. I am just happy that you seem to be okay now. Do you want to grab something to drink or a treat,” asked Carl? 

“I think that would be great,” replied Myra. Carl pulled out his phone and texted Nate and Vince asking them to research John Esten Cooke. They left the car and walked into the gas station and looked over the selection of beverages in the cooler.  

“Grab whatever you want, I’m going to get a coffee and a candy bar,” said Carl.  

The sun was setting, and the streetlights started coming on and filling the darkness outside. Myra grabbed a chocolate milk and a large candy bar while Carl went over to the coffee section and poured himself a large hazelnut flavored coffee. Once his cup was filled, he poured some creamer and sugar in. Myra looked at him quizzically.   

“Whenever I go to gas stations and get their coffee, I have to dress it up because it is usually pretty bad. Don’t drink coffee it will stunt your growth,” said Carl jokingly. They both laughed at this, and Carl grabbed a candy bar for himself, and they went to the cashier to check out. There was no one else in line and very few people in the store. Myra placed her soda and candy bar on the counter and smiled at the cashier.  

“You must have been really good today to get a treat like this,” said the cashier as she scanned the items and put them into a bag. 

“I had a great day at my uncles house,” replied Myra. Carl raised an eyebrow as he faced Myra.  

“Well, we have some free stickers if you would like one, if that’s okay with your dad,” replied the cashier. 

“Go ahead and take one Myra,” replied Carl. 

“Myra, what a beautiful name, is she your only child,” asked the cashier? 

“Uhm yes, only child. We had a long day of playing out in the woods and making crafts,” said Carl a little uneasy being called a dad for the first time. Myra took the sticker that the cashier held out.  

“Thank you very much,” replied Myra. 

“Oh, and very polite and great manners. You know I had a grandmother named Myra. She was my favorite relative. Now don’t ruin your dinner with that candy bar,” said the smiling cashier. “Your total is seven eighty-five,” she said to Carl. He pulled out his wallet and paid with a credit card. “Coffee at this time of the evening, you’ll be up all night. I can’t drink coffee after 10 AM otherwise I get too jittery.” 

“I need it to keep up with her energy. Thank you very much and have a great night,” said Carl as he took the receipt and grabbed the bag with the candy bars and soda.  

“Have a good night, take good care of your dad okay Myra,” said the cashier as Myra and Carl left the store. Carl thought about the last thing that the cashier said, it seemed odd, and he didn’t think he looked tired. But then he realized he might have looked like an older father. They both got into the car and Carl handed Myra her drink and candy bar after she secured the seatbelt. Carl pulled out of the parking lot and pulled into traffic as he took a sip of coffee and audibly sighed.  

“So, what do you want for dinner tonight, I didn’t look at what you and Cheryl got from the store,” asked Carl. 

“We got some chicken and rice and veggies. Can you make something with that,” said Myra? 

“I am a whiz in the kitchen. I’ll have you help me out if you are feeling up to it,” said Carl. “Uhm something I wanted to ask you, you called Nate your uncle at the gas station, and you didn’t correct the cashier about me being your dad. Are you wanting to call me dad and Nate uncle and Cheryl mom,” asked Carl? 

“Was that wrong, I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to say so that slipped out of my mouth,” sheepishly replied Myra. 

“No, no that is fine. I just want you to feel comfortable when referring to any of us. I’d be very happy to be your father and Cheryl would say the same thing, I am sure. Nate, he has been waiting my whole life to have a child so he could be called Uncle Nate by someone and Carmine, well she’d just burst into tears of joy. My ex-wife and I couldn’t have children, so Nate and Carmine have always looked after me and since I am the youngest brother, they feel it’s their job. I’m more concerned with how you are feeling, and your comfort level,” replied Carl.  

“Why couldn’t you have children,” asked Myra? 

“Well, it just wasn’t in the cards for us. I couldn’t get her pregnant and well yeah,” replied Carl nervously.  

“Are you sure she wanted children, maybe she didn’t want kids,” replied Myra.  

Carl took a moment to respond. That thought had crossed his mind when they were initially trying to get pregnant. His ex-wife always wanted kids. When he got the diagnosis the idea of kids faded away since even in the early stages, they both knew he would not live long enough to raise children. Even if they were able to have kids, they also knew he would be bedridden towards the end of his life and he expressed to his ex-wife that he didn’t want their children to remember him as an invalid.  

Gritting through his teeth he said,” no it was me that didn’t want kids at that time. I wasn’t ready to have children.” 

“But you do want kids now, right,” asked Myra? 

“Well, I definitely want you for a kid, I don’t think I have the strength for more than one. Having more than one is a conversation that Cheryl and I will have to have, and we will include you in that conversation when and if there comes the time,” replied Carl.  

“I’ve always been an only child, I like it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved going over to Uncle Nate’s house today and being with Seth and Rachel, but I’ve always been on my own and I like it that way,” said Myra.  

“Okay we have one vote for no more kids, I am undecided yet and it looks like Cheryl may be the deciding vote. Oh, look we made it home in one piece,” Carl joked. His phone buzzed due to an incoming message, but he ignored it for now as he parked his car in front of his apartment. They both climbed out of the car and headed up the stairs to Carl’s apartment. Once they entered the apartment Carl went straight to the kitchen and looked at the time. It was almost six o’clock and he pulled out the chicken and rice and a few pots and pans and started cooking. He knew the coffee shop closed at six and Cheryl would probably be here in about an hour, so he turned on the stove and Myra began putting water into a pot to boil the rice.  

“I’ll turn on the music, anything you want to hear,” asked Carl as he headed to the TV? 

“I really like that jazz music you played before, it's nice and relaxing,” replied Myra. Carl turned on the TV and selected the jazz music channel and headed back to the kitchen. He thought to himself, if any Grover Brecht comes on, I am going to throw the TV off the patio. Luckily that was not the first song that came through once the TV came on. Once Myra had the water boiling for the rice, she dumped it in and turned the heat down a little so that the pot wouldn’t boil over and placed the lid on the pot. She then went to the sink and pulled out a glass and poured herself a glass of water and sat down at the dining table. Carl got the chicken into the pan and started sautéing the thighs with a little bit of seasoned flour on them and saw that Myra had chopped up the veggies for him when he was ready. He hadn’t finished his coffee during the drive and had it nearby and took a few sips of the tepid sweet liquid. He made a mental note of the gas station and initially thought that he should text that information to Nate and Vince, but though best not to do that because they were already investigating so much. He didn’t want to bother them or make them think he was going insane.  

Myra was sitting at the table enjoying the music and looking at her new sticker and her book. She carefully took out the recipe that Nate had given her and took note of the ingredients and thought about when she could make the cookies for Carl and Cheryl.  

While Carl was cooking, he looked at the messages that came through earlier. The first one was from Nate thanking him for the information. He saw Vince’s right after with another thank you. There was a second message from Vince that had an attachment and the message said, ‘read this tonight, away from the child’. Carl felt a little sickened at this point. The smell of the chicken cooking turned his stomach and anxiety started to well within him. He didn’t like messages like that, he wanted to read it immediately but knew that if Vince instructed him not to then he would follow the direction. He forwarded it to Cheryl so she could read it on her way home. Carl turned down the heat on the chicken and went to his bathroom to grab some antacids. Myra didn’t even look up to notice he had left. Once he got to the bathroom he was feeling better, but still took the antacids in case the feeling came back.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

11 Nov 2021    daily count 635   cumulative count 16128 

Carl kept on driving until they were about fifteen minutes from the apartment. Myra was asleep in the back seat, and he was getting tired as well. The sun was setting, and the sky was a light orange, wispy clouds blocked out most of the blue and Carl’s eyes were drooping. He rolled down the window hoping the fresh air would wake him up until he got both of them back home. Myra was gently snoring and talking in her sleep. Carl couldn’t hear clearly what she was saying, but it sounded like she was talking to someone. Carl turned off the classical music and put on the podcast he was listening to from Canada. The story he was listening to picked up where he left off and he found himself getting quickly engrossed and forgetting that Myra was in the car. The story was about a man being probed by aliens and the mans voice sounded like a bad imitation of someone from the south. He chuckled a little and heard Myra stir so then he muffled his amusement. When the story was over, the host was reading the credits and one of the names that he read was John Esten Cooke. When Carl heard that name, Myra stirred even more and started saying “daddy John daddy John where am I?” Carl pulled the car over to the next gas station and parked the car. He looked back at Myra whose eyes were open but not focused on him. She kept on saying the same thing, “daddy John daddy John where am I?” Carl waved his hands in front of her eyes and snapped his fingers a few times.  

“Myra, you are here in my car. It’s Carl, we are driving home,” Carl said to Myra.  

Myra was still unresponsive to Carl as she kept on repeating the same phrase “daddy John, daddy John where am I?” Carl turned off the podcast and did a search on his phone for the name that seemed to set her off. The results came back that Joe was a voice actor out of Virginia, the results also came back that there was a minor poet of the same name back in the late 1800’s also from Virginia. Carl screen shot the podcast page and saved it on his phone and made a mental note to look this guy up. But for right now he needed to wake Myra up and calm her down. He never knew if he had an episode while he slept, but he thought that he might be able to bring Myra out of the episode by doing what worked for him while he was awake. He took off his seatbelt and crawled into the back seat. When he was next to Myra, he held her and sang softly to her. He was singing “My Favorite Things” offkey. Myra started to calm down and close her eyes and then she woke up with a shock and shivering.  

“Oh, what, why are you in the back seat, are we dead, why are you holding me Carl,” said Myra excitedly.  

“You fell asleep while I was driving and then you had an episode, I think. Do you know a man by the name of John? You kept on asking for someone by the name of John,” asked Carl. 

“I ask because you were saying ‘daddy John daddy Joh where am I’ and you were inconsolable. It started happening when the podcast I was listening to while you were asleep started to read off the credits and when they read the name John Esten Cooke you started crying this guy’s name. Also, you sleep with your eyes open, do you sleepwalk as well. The reason I ask is because I used to do that too,” said Carl.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

10 Nov 2021    daily count 1694   cumulative count 15493 

“I totally understand. I’d want to talk with Carmine if this was happening to us,” replied Nate. “You are doing a good job and it looks like you are holding up pretty well under the pressure. We are working as quickly as possible but also as carefully as possible to get everything done so you three can move on with your lives.” 

“I’m trying to figure out what I did in the past that has cause karma to kick me in the gut like this,” said Carl.  

“Life is just like this, well not exactly like this but you get what I am saying. Do you want to just quickly go over the paperwork we have, or would you rather wait until later to look it over and have me explain it to you,” asked Nate? 

“I think I just want to hang out with the kids and call it a day. I know that we haven’t done any heavy lifting yet, but I have an hour drive ahead of me and then I need to make dinner and I don’t want Myra to develop my bad habits of not taking the best care of herself by pushing until exhaustion. I’m sorry I don’t mean to sound like a wus,” replied Carl.  

“Nope, you are thinking like a father now and you have added responsibility. I think I’d be more worries about you if you wanted to push through, plus I’d never hear the end of it from Carmine that I locked you up in my office while we had kids out there that need us. Let's just put this on hold until we hear back from Vince and Angela and go from there,” said Nate. 

Carl helped Nate organize the paperwork on his desk and when they finished both men left the office and headed towards the craft room. When they got there Myra ran up to Nate and gave him a big hug.  

“Carmine and Seth made you a present with the flowers we picked, take a look,” said Myra excitedly.  

“That is wonderful, I will put it in my office later. Who is up for dessert, I have some vegan chocolate cookies that will make you want to switch to becoming a vegan,” asked Nate? 

Myra looked over at Carl pleadingly.  

“I’d love some cookies, Myra I bet they have chocolate milk to dunk the cookies in and you must be tired from all the work you have done today making these great gifts,” replied Carl.  

“She has been a great helper and has a knack for crafts,” said Carmine. “I think she deserves a few cookies. Nate can you set up the dining room for desert for everyone,” asked Carmine? 

“I could use a good helper, Myra can I ask you to lend a hand if you aren’t needed here,” asked Nate? 

“I think that’s a great idea Myra, I’ll take your place here and help clean up the craft room,” said Carl. With that Myra and Nate went into the dining room to set up plates, napkins and glasses for everyone.  

“Have you ever had vegan chocolate chip cookies Myra,” asked Nate? 

“Never, what’s in them,” replied Myra? 

“Well, we don’t use any cow milk, eggs or sugar. The batter is gluten free, so it won’t aggravate any food allergies and it’s a secret recipe. If I gave you the instructions on how to make them, do you think you could make them for Cheryl and Carl at the apartment,” asked Nate? 

 “Where would I keep the recipe,” asked Myra? 

“For right now you can keep it in the book you have and if you run into any problems just let me know and I can walk you through it. You know how to be safe around a stove right,” asked Nate? 

“Yeah, I know they can burn you pretty bad if you aren’t careful,” said Myra. 

“And I know Carl has a fire extinguisher in the kitchen in case you need to use it,” said Nate. 

“I don’t know where it is,” said Myra.  

“It's under the sink in the cabinet. The instructions are on it, but I am sure if you follow my instructions carefully you can do it. I am not a great cook, but I do make the best cookies you have ever had, and I know you were being very helpful today with the crafts so I am sure you can do this,” said Nate.  

“I’ll try my best,” said Myra. They finished setting up the plates, silverware, napkins and glasses for everyone and put out the cookies on a platter that Nate had made earlier in the day. Then Nate gave a copy of the recipe to Myra, and she placed it in the book she brought to the house. Nate put his finger to his lips while she put the recipe in her book.  

“Can you go and tell everyone that the cookies are ready, and I’ll grab you some chocolate milk. Thank you for helping me out, Myra, and remember shhhhh don’t tell Carl you have my recipe. He doesn’t even have a copy of it,” whispered Nate.  

“I can do that, thank you,” replied Myra.  

She went back to the craft room and announced that the cookies and the dining room was ready. Everyone stopped the cleanup and headed towards the treat. Myra grabbed Carl’s hand and led him to his seat.  

“Can we go home soon, I am getting a little tired,” asked Myra. 

“Let's eat these cookies and we can go home. Did you have fun with Nate setting the table,” asked Carl? 

“I really liked it; their house seems so fancy. I really like it here,” replied Myra.  

“I like it here too, we will come back very soon I promise,” said Carl. They both made their way to their seats in the dining room, and everyone took a seat. Nate raised his glass, “so to a very productive day, I say we all take a nap after the treat.” Everyone laughed and started to eat the cookies.  

“You are right Nate, these cookies are the best I have ever had,” replied Myra.  

Nate winked at Myra, “and you have been a great helper around here today. I am sorry I didn’t get to help out much, I had adult things to do today but I hope you had a great time and will come back soon.” 

“I’d like to, you all have been so nice to me today. Thank you so very much,” replied Myra.  

“Since this is the first time you have come over, we wanted to give you this gift,” said Carmine as she pulled a small box out of her pants pocket and reached across the table to hand it to Myra. “Go ahead an open it.” 

Myra carefully opened the box to find a necklace with a small pendant. Engraved on the pendant was the family crest and her name written under the crest. She placed it around her neck immediately and smiled broadly.  

“Thank you very much, this is wonderful,” replied Myra.  

“Now don’t take it off unless you are taking a bath or going swimming. We wanted to give you something to remember this day by,” said Carmine. Carl looked over at Nate and mouthed “is this what I think it is?” Nate closed his eyes and nodded yes. Carl started to roll his eyes and then gave Nate a dirty look.  

“Well, I hate to break up the party, but I have a girl that is a little bit tired and so am I, Nate we can talk tomorrow and we will see you all very soon,” said Carl with a touch of anger in his voice. Myra had finished her cookie and her chocolate milk while Carl stood up and reached for Myra’s book. Carmine and the kids got up and each gave Myra and Carl a big hug. Nate stood up and walked up to Myra and took the pendant into his hands. He looked directly at Myra and said,” Take good care of my little brother okay, come by and see us soon.” He gave her a hug and stood up and shook hands with Carl. “No need to call tomorrow I took care of the issue for now.” Carl was still angered that Nate had tried to put a tracer on Myra without letting him know but was satisfied that he had turned it off.  

“I have a full day of work on Monday, Carmine can Myra come over for the morning and I’ll see if Cheryl can grab her in the early afternoon,” asked Carl? 

“Absolutely, but can you get her here by 6 AM, I am taking the kids to school, and she can come along for the ride. Would you like that Myra and maybe we can do more crafts,” asked Carmine? 

“I would, but what about my school,” asked Myra? 

“We are working on that; I’ll get you started with a new school very soon. Angela is working on that with me on that but until then enjoy the time off,” said Carl.  

“See you on Monday Carmine,” said Myra as she and Carl began to head to the front door.  

“I can’t wait, and I’ll have some more crafts we can do,” said Carmine. Carl and Myra went to the car and got in. Carl moved some papers he had lying in the back seat so that Myra could be comfortable.  

“Would you like to stop at the gas station for a drink or a snack,” asked Carl as he started up the car and pulled out of the driveway? 

“No, I am so full, I think I may take a nap,” replied Myra sleepily. Carl turned on some classical music softly so Myra could rest and made sure he was very careful with his driving. They got close to the gas station where they had stopped earlier in the day and Carl saw three police cars in the lot. He was planning on grabbing a coffee or soda and a snack but thought better of it and kept driving. 

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

9 Nov 2021    daily count 1766   cumulative count 13799 

The men made it to the craft room where Carmine and the kids were working on floral arraignments for Cheryl. Myra ran up to Carl and hugged him. He looked over at Nate and Vince for help. Vince put his finger to his lips.  

“This is amazing thank you for bringing me here, look what we made for Cheryl,” exclaimed Myra.  

“Those are great, I am so glad that you are having a great time,” replied Carl still looking over at Nate and Vince. 

“Well folks that was a great meal, but now I need to hit the road. Myra, I heard you want to be on my team the next time we do tug of war, is that right,” asked Vince? 

“Can I please, I know we can beat anyone,” said Myra. 

“Okay I’m with you and maybe we can pull Carl and Nate into the mud while they are wearing suits, how cool would that be,” replied Vince? 

“That would be awesome,” exclaimed Myra! “Here I made this for you,” Myra handed Vince a small bouquet of the flowers they picked. 

“I’ll make sure to keep it on my porch so it gets a ton of sunlight and maybe sometime Carl will bring you over to my house and you can see my workout room,” replied Vince. 

“I want to come over too,” interjected Seth. 

“You want to come to my arcade young man, I know your game,” replied Vince. 

“Raise that B to an A in biology and you can go,” said Nate. 

Myra gave Vince a big hug as he was starting to leave. Vince whispered in her ear, “take good care of Cheryl and especially Carl. They are my friends, and they think you are pretty special.” 

“Can do boss man,” whispered Myra back to him in Spanish. 

“Where did you hear that before,” asked Vince? 

“Uncle Neal silly, he always said that to us,” replied Myra. 

Vince stood up and headed for the door and waved Nate to follow him out. Once they got outside and Nate shut the door behind them Vince leaned into Nate and said softly,” she just said something that my dead brother Neal said to me before I would leave out on a mission, and she did it in Spanish just like he used to do.” 

“I didn’t know you had a brother,” replied Nate. 

“Well, he was an adopted brother from my time south of the border. He is not related by blood but by trial of fire. He died nine years ago. Keep an eye open,” replied Vince. He walked toward his truck and started up the motor and left quickly. Nate watched as Vince left and headed back into the house and towards the craft room when he got an alert on his phone that Angela was approaching the house. He stepped back to the front door and waited for her on the front porch.  

Angela pulled up and parked her car next to Carl’s/. She saw Nate standing on the porch and knew she would need to talk with him before going inside. This was his usual signal that something important needed to be discussed immediately.  

“What’s going on, is everything okay inside,” asked Angela? 

“Just had another episode with Myra and Vince. She said something that only he and a dead colleague of his would know,” Nate said quietly. “Let’s go to my upstairs office and talk about our strategy for adopting Myra.” 

They both entered the house and went to an isolated corner of the main floor of the house where Nate had a more informal office. He took a seat behind his desk as Angela sat opposite of him in a leather chair. She opened her portfolio and tablet to start writing notes. Nate pressed a button on the desk and the door locked and a notification was sent to Carmine letting her know not to disturb Nate in his office.  

“Let me give you some information that will color how we proceed with adopting Myra into the family. So, we may have an easier time according to Vince if he can get to their house and the first hotel they stayed at. The second hotel has already been compromised but there was nothing linking the father to Myra. In fact, the father is not the real father of her. About three years ago Myra showed up and the wife died of unknown causes. That couple adopted her with a cover story that she was a niece and that her mother was unable to care for her. Both parents were only children. They enrolled her into school with that story and it worked. There are no pictures except for a school ID. There may be no records of her via the internet. I am thinking we can do something similar and get buy in from Myra with you and Carmine applying the right pressure on her,” said Nate.  

“I still want to do some searching into my channels about her and this foster adoption. I doubt Myra’s parents had the resources or the knowledge needed to do this as quietly as we can do it. There are few people that have access to the resources we do, and we are the best in the business. That’s why I joined the firm. I have the preliminary paperwork drafted and wanted you, Carl and Cheryl at some point to review and sign off on them. Looks like I’ll be doing some updating to the paperwork, I just want to make sure we are on the right track to get everything knocked out quickly and silently, so no one is the wiser or snoops around after us,” said Angela.  

“Cheryl had to go to work, and I think we will wait to deliver the paperwork to her until after you do your research. Carl can look it over today while he is here and sign off on anything you need him to sign off on. Everyone is in the craft room right now. Do you want to head over there and make an appearance and let Carl know that we have paperwork he needs to review,” asked Nate. 

“I can do that. If you don’t mind me asking, is this turning into something weird? I am just getting a funny vibe from all of this and what has happened,” asked Angela.  

“Take a look at the school ID,” Nate pushed the laminated card over to Angela. “This was taken about three years ago.” 

Angela looked at the ID casually and then looked at it again deeply. “Three years ago, are we sure, because that is the same little girl in your craft room right now. I'm not an expert at facial recognition but to me that is … Myra,” said Angela with a gasp.  

“Yeah, that is her, this is from Vince and his people have just about confirmed it. We are doing some DNA analysis on Myra and Cheryl just to make sure. We have hit the Twilight Zone, prepare yourself for a fun ride,” said Nate.  

“How much does Carl know,” asked Angela still gazing at the ID. 

“Everything except the paperwork you just dropped on me to review. He is a little shaken up about it naturally. Carmine doesn’t know yet, but can you keep an eye on Carl until he comes here to look over the paperwork and encourage him to do it quickly,” asked Nate? 

“Three years, wow, okay yes I’ll do that right now,” said Angela. Nate unlocked the door from his desk and Angela left the office and headed straight to the craft room. When she got there Myra looked over her shoulder and saw Angela and ran straight to her.  

“Hello there Angela, we are making some flower bracelets for Cheryl, want to help” asked Myra? 

“I sure do they look lovely. I wish I had some, can you show me how to make them,” asked Angela? “Oh Carl, Nate said he needed you to review some paperwork in his office if you can head over there right now?” 

“I am on it, okay Myra duty calls, I’ll be back as soon as I am done with Nate. Are you going to be okay,” asked Carl? 

“Sure, I am going to help Angela make flower bracelets for her to take home,” said Myra.  

As Carl headed to Nate’s office Carmine stopped him before he left. “Are you feeling okay, do you need to go lie down when you are done with Nate. I know it's been a busy day for you, and we can watch Myra for a few hours if needed?” 

“Thanks for the concern, I am fine. It’s just paperwork right, it's not like going on at tour of the grounds with Seth. Now that is tiring because that kid doesn’t tire out ever. I am going to refresh my ginger ale if you don’t mind,” replied Carl.  

“You know where it’s at in the fridge. No one here drinks it but we keep it on hand for when you come over and I hope you come over more often now,” said Carmine.  

“Absolutely. I think this is all a plan you have concocted to get me over here more often,” joked Carl. 

“You see right through me as always Carl. Now get my husband out of that office so he can have some fun today,” replied Carmine.  

Carl gave her a quick hug and went off to Nate’s office. He knocked on the door. Nate opened it and headed back to his chair behind the desk. There were papers strewn about and a couple of pens were on Carl’s side of the desk. Carl took a seat and looked over the papers without touching them.  

“This won’t take long, with the new information that I gave Angela she has more work to do and more research to do on Myra. When she gets that done, I’ll bring you and Cheryl in, and we can go over the process and paperwork. Basically, I think we are going to do something similar but cleaner than what was done previously with Myra since she did a good job last time,” stated Nate.  

“Oh okay, that’s great because I have no idea on how this all works, and I’d like to have Cheryl in on this as much as possible because this is going to impact her as well. Let's get back to the kids and I think we will go in about an hour or so if there is nothing else,” replied Carl.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

8 Nov 2021    daily count 1680   cumulative count 12033 

“Okay well what is the cause of death then,” asked Nate? 

“Right now, its preliminary pending toxicology but the police are calling it a suicide. There was no pills found, there was no vomit just the usual things that happen when people die. The guy shit himself and pissed his pants,” replied Vince. 

“Well, isn’t that a little strange since he was thirty-four and outwardly seemed to be in good health,” replied Carl. 

“That’s why it is preliminary pending toxicology. They got a good guy working on it, they should have results soon, like say Monday or Tuesday morning,” replied Vince.  

“I know where you are headed Carl, you think it’s the book and we won’t know,” replied Nate. 

“Well, that would be an explanation. According to the rules of the diary, once you write the last entry and pass it off to someone else you basically die,” replied Carl annoyedly.  

“Yes, that would be an explanation, “Nate stressed the word an “but that would entail us buying into this diary being cursed. What else do you have for us Vince,” asked Nate? 

“So, the recently deceased pulled out money from an ATM at the gas station you stopped at earlier today. He pulled out enough money to cover the hotel room and nothing more. He has about three thousand dollars in that account right now with nothing pending clearing. He knew how much this hotel would cost which led me to look at the hotel chain in a one-hundred-mile radius from this hotel. He stayed at another hotel on a long-term basis, in fact he still has about three weeks left on that term. When we checked with that hotel, we found that he had checked in two months ago with a nine-year-old girl whom I can assume was Myra. He paid for cash with that one and the bank records support the withdraw. So, when we pinpointed his movements, he had been planning this drop off for at least two months at the other hotel. When we viewed the tapes of the hotel, he never left the hotel without the girl. They did have some personal effects that currently we are not privy to. But the tapes do show they left on the days you and Cheryl indicated that he and the girl showed up at the coffee shop. The day of the drop off he did not return to the first hotel, rather, he arrived at the second hotel and didn’t leave. I expect we will be getting access to the personal effects at the first hotel once we secure some items that the employee had requested for his cooperation,” said Vince in his straightforward tone.  

“So, what do we know about Harold,” asked Nate? 

“Pretty much an open book on him, it was very easy to find information. Married ten years ago, wife died about three years ago shortly after Myra came on the scene with them. Cause of death was determined to be natural causes, toxicology showed nothing abnormal, she just died. Harold worked at his occupation in HR at his corporation for fifteen years. He suddenly left his job about four months ago and they lived in a small town across the state line. Mortgage was paid up for the rest of the year and lights come on at 7 PM every night and turn off at 6 AM every morning. Mail was suspended and being held, and newspaper subscription was cancelled about two years ago. The house is not in an HOA or gated community, so surveillance was simple enough, most residents are like Harold in that they live there but work elsewhere due to lower cost of living.  Low crime rate and most residents are considered middle class and around the same age and background of Harold. Seems like a very white bread place and was until Myra showed up and the wife died,” said Vince.  

“Can I ask why you have photos of my apartment and the coffee shop,” asked Carl nervously? 

“Standard investigation protocols and to ensure your safety. We have been monitoring you since we were put into action. I can share the information with you; however, I would not share it with Cheryl or Myra at this juncture. Now this is the thing that is curious, Myra was enrolled three years ago in the elementary school as a nine-year-old. No behavioral issues. The school was told that they were foster parents for Myra, and she was their niece, and her single mother could not care for her, so they had adopted her. Harold was an only child as was his wife. I've included a school ID for Myra, there has literally been no change in her from what my people can see when examining the ID and pictures we now have of her. She has not aged a day,” Vince placed the school ID in front of Carl.  

“Okay my theory is sounding better. I am not going crazy, am I? How can she be nine years old for three years in a row,” asked Carl? All three men sat there in silence for about the longest five minutes in the history of the world.  

“I’ve obtained a DNA sample from Myra and Cheryl. Once I leave here, I will have it analyzed and that should take a day or two. Knowing how Harold and his wife presented Myra to others might make Angela’s job easier as the school district where you currently reside doesn’t check into the history too deeply. I can say right here and right now, this is one of the most interesting and potentially difficult assignments I have ever had. I’d like to know where you would like to prioritize my focus,” asked Vince? 

“How much do the police know, “asked Nate? 

“They are in preliminary stages of their investigation. I would expect they should have knowledge of Myra by Wednesday at the latest. Depending on what is in the house and the other hotel,” replied Vince. 

“What do you mean depending,” asked Nate? 

“Well, the school ID is the only picture we have of this girl. There is no internet traffic or images of her that we can find. I am not saying there is nothing out there, just nothing that we are comfortable enough to say is her. Harold and his wife did not have school pictures taken and did not allow Myra’s student ID to be used in the yearbook. That is odd but not totally uncommon, there is a small number of parents that try very hard to protect their kids from the denizens of the internet, most of them haven’t been as successful as you have, but Harold and his wife were able to keep Myra off the usual channels that we find kids on,” replied Vince. “If Harold has asked me what the protocol would be I would have replied as I have done for you, no pictures anywhere, even in phones. The police may not find information or the personal effects of Myra in either place. So, this may not pose an issue in the future. Obviously, we are not going to leave that to chance, we will continue our investigation until we can answer the initial inquiry and the questions that appear while we investigate,” replied Vince.  

Everyone was uncomfortably quiet for a few moments. Carl’s anxiety was rising, and he looked around at the other men in the room to gauge their reactions. Nate and Vince were stomached and couldn’t be read. Carl looked deeply at the ID and closed his eyes. He was feeling wobbly and was about to fall out of his chair when Vince leaned over and steadied him. 

“Okay, what we have just talked about doesn’t leave this room. Cheryl and Carmine do not have a need to know right now. Carl, you understand,” asked Nate? 

“Yeah, whew I am not feeling the greatest. How do I look at Myra now and keep that information inside,” replied Carl. 

“You bury it deep and play the happy new father role that you are now in. You just go about like things are normal and don’t betray our confidence. This information will not help her, and we don’t have enough to give her anyways. I’ll talk with Angela on my own and we will figure out a good back story for Myra that she can go with. I am sure she did just fine with her last set of parents. I don’t want you to go off on any flights of fancy and get all superstitious on us Carl. I know what you read in that book, and I don’t think this is an attack on me. There are some weird things going on and I haven’t pissed off anyone that could concoct something as elaborate like this. Vince, just carry on with where your investigation is currently taking you, but I think we need to focus this on Myra more than Harold. Get access to the first hotel and the house and then maybe we will have more answers that make sense,” Nate said sternly.  

“We may get more questions too,” replied Carl.  

“Okay we have been down here long enough; I don’t want to spook Myra or Carmine. Let's get upstairs and Vince, you can excuse yourself to get the DNA samples analyzed. You know how to get past my secretary to get my attention when those results come in. Carl, when you take Myra to the apartment tonight, don’t try to get any information from her. If this diary is cursed and it would jeopardize your life, we can’t risk you trying to get information we can get from other means. I hate to say it, but I think you will have an easier time convincing me that something supernatural is happening than me convincing you to go vegan. Alright gentlemen let’s go have fun with the kids,” said Nate.  

All three men stood up and headed to the door. Nate put his hand on Carl’s shoulder to comfort him and Vince looked down at the floor as they left. 

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

7 Nov 2021    daily count 1950    cumulative count 10353 

Everyone started to head inside the house to the dining room when they heard a low rumble coming from the driveway. 

“That should be Vince, it is close enough to 1. Cheryl, Myra, here is what you have been waiting for, I present to you Vince,” said Carl. 

“Dad do you want me to help him park the truck,” asked Seth? 

“Go ahead, but you don’t get to drive it, just marshal him in and make sure Cheryl has room to move her car since she has to leave early,” replied Nate.  

Carl took a seat where Nate was standing, and Cheryl and Myra followed suit to his right. Carmine sat at the opposite of Nate at the other end of the table and Rachel sat to her right. Nate waited for everyone to sit down before he took his seat and looked towards the front door to see when Vince and Seth came in. Everyone heard the loud horn and the back up beeping from what was presumed Vince’s truck. Cheryl and Myra’s eyes widened.  

“Wait, Vince has one eye, how can he drive,” asked Cheryl? 

“We know a few people at the DMV, plus Vince drives better than most people with two eyes. Sometimes I have him drive me to meetings or if there are certain issues that need his specialty,” replied Nate.  

The sound of the truck died, and the heavy footsteps of Vince and Seth could be heard.  

“Do I still need to take off my boots at the door Nate, I just had them cleaned before I came over,” bellowed a gruff voice from the front door. 

“Leave your boots on, I don’t think our guests would appreciate your foot odor as much as we do big man,” replied Nate. 

Seth walked into the dining room with a bald muscular man with a patch over his left eye not much taller than him. Myra and Cheryl presumed this was the aforementioned Vince. He walked up to Nate and shook his hand while whispering something in his ear. Nate smiled a little bit and shook his head and whispered back. Then Vince walked over to Carl and pulled out the chair he was sitting in and pulled him out of his seat and bear hugged him while Carl grunted.  

“Little brother you look tired, has Nate made you a Vogon yet,” said Vince? 

“I think the correct term is a tree hugging hippie, and the answer is not yet, but Cheryl might,” replied Carl. Vince put Carl down in his seat as Cheryl and Myra looked on in amazement. They were expecting someone much taller from what Seth and Rachel shared with them on the tour of the grounds.  

Vince approached Cheryl and Myra from behind. He pulled out Cheryl’s chair and extended his hand to her. She put her hand in is hand and he bent over to kiss it.  

“You must be Cheryl and I bet you were expecting me to pick you up like I just did to Carl? I am not the mean monster you expected am I,” Vince asked? 

“No, you are very char-,” with that Vince picked up Cheryl and gave her a slightly less intense bear hug before she could finish her sentence. “-ming. Oh my gosh. Now that’s what I expected ha ha ha,” finished Cheryl. Vince put her down carefully back into her chair. He winked his eye at Myra and mouthed “want a piggyback ride”? She nodded yes and smiled ear to ear. Vince pulled out Myra’s chair and hoisted her about his head and she placed her legs around his neck and held on to the top of his head. They walked around the dinning table and out to the living room where Vince got n his tip toes and Myra was able to touch the crystal chandelier. When Myra touched the chandelier, it made a twinkling sound as some of the pieces softly clinked together which made her smile even more. Vince took her up stairs and back down as she squealed with delight and then they headed back to the dinning room where he gently put her back into her seat. He then made his way to his chair next to Nate and opposite of Carl at the head of the table.  

“So, Vince now that you have met Cheryl and Myra, I think we can start having lunch. Everyone its family buffet style, our guests first please,” declared Nate. Myra and Cheryl got up and took their plates to the buffet followed by Carl and Vince and then Seth and Rachel and lastly Carmine and Nate. They all lined up and filled their plates. Carl looked over at Nate and then he looked at his family with Vince and smiled, he then looked at Cheryl and Myra who were talking with everyone else and his smile grew even brighter. He was happy he finally had a family that he could bring to his brother's house and eat a meal with, he felt more accomplished in his life regardless of the circumstances that made this possible. He ate and savored each bite of vegan food and today it tasted like the best meal of his life. He wanted more life, he wanted to not just live but thrive.  

The meal lasted for about two hours and only broke up when Cheryl had to excuse herself to leave in order to cover the shift she promised. Before she left Carmine gave her a few containers of food and some cookbooks to keep at the apartment. If you had been a fly on the wall you would have never known that this was their first meeting.  

Carl and Myra walked her out to her car. Myra gave her a hug and looked up at Carl. 

“I had a great time thank you for bringing me to your family. They are awesome,” said Cheryl.  

“I think that food is going to put me into a coma, how about you,” asked Carl? 

“Nah, I feel energized like I could run all the way back to town and into work and not even sweat. Okay Myra look after Carl and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble. I won’t be back before you go to bed so can I get a hug good night and I’ll see you in the morning,” Cheryl said before she opened the driver's side door. Myra and Cheryl hugged deeply for a few minutes.  

“Myra, why don’t you run back inside and give Carmine and Nate a hand with the dishes,” said Carl. With that she ran inside the house. Carl looked into Cheryl’s eyes, “Thank you for coming. I know this is all moving so fast right now and let me know if you need to slow down or have some space. I am feeling better about what’s going on even though we know how it will probably end. I haven’t been this positive in a long time,” said Carl. Cheryl started to tear up and then grabbed Carl and planted a deep and passionate kiss on him. They stayed like that for a few minutes not caring about the camera or if anyone could see them embracing from the house. Finally, Cheryl broke the embrace and sat down in the driver's seat and started the car.  

“I’ll see you in bed tonight, don’t let me catch you sleeping on the sofa,” said Cheryl and closed the door, almost immediately putting the car in gear and headed back to town. Carl stood there for a moment dumbfounded by what just happened and by what Cheryl just said. It also frightened him a bit since he hadn’t slept with a woman since the divorce. He didn’t know if his snoring would keep her awake or which side of the bed she liked to sleep on or if the music he played would keep her up. His anxiety started to rise, and just as it did Nate called to him from the front porch.  

“Hey lover boy, we got some work to do, Angela is on her way, and she has some paperwork for us to go over,” said Nate in a loud enough voice for Carl to hear but not shouting.  

Carl started back to the house with a spring in his step and the biggest smile he had in years on his face.  

“Thanks for making this easier big bro,” said Carl as he passed Nate through the front door. 

“Oh, this is where things get much harder, run down to the office and meet Vince there. Carmine and Rachel have taken Myra to the craft room to make something for Cheryl,” said Nate as he followed Carl into the house and to the office. Nate’s “office” was in the basement of the house and reminded Carl of the bomb shelters he had seen in books about the Cold War. It was decked out with computer and TV screens as well as a couple of beds and a full bathroom with a shower and bathtub. Nate also kept a pantry and a weapon room down there with a generator and a two-car garage with a full shop and two four-wheel drive Ford Broncos from the late seventies that were in perfect running condition. Carl didn’t know what else he had stored down there but he felt safe in Nates office space. Vince was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Nates old wood desk and Carl took a seat next to him. Nate went behind his desk and settled into his leather chair.  

Vince had a drink on the end table next to him and a portfolio in his lap opened up with various papers and pictures of the coffee shop, the outside of Carl’s apartment, a random hotel and a house that he didn’t recognize.  

“Vince what are we dealing with,” asked Nate? 

“Alright boss, this is one of the weirdest assignments we have done. So, the father and I use that term loosely is Harold McKenzie. He was thirty-four and until recently he was the father of Myra. He was found at a no tell hotel where my friends with the police department found him. They received a call from someone at the hotel letting them know there was a dead body. The informant did not identify themselves, but the hotel had a reputation for unsavory individuals. The informant gave Mr. Mckenziee's room number, and the call was unable to be traced. The informant’s voice was determined to be male and natural; no vocal modulation was detected. The call came in at about seven in the morning. They sent out a car and the officers spoke with the employee on duty. They were granted access to the room where they found the recently deceased laying on the bed, unresponsive to their commands. One officer inspected the room while the other officer attended to the body. No signs of a struggle, no gunshot wounds, no shell casings and no blood from the body. There were no personal affects found in the dresser and the bathroom appeared to have been unused. The employee on duty noted that the occupant had paid in cash and a search of the body turned up a wallet and keys to a car that was in the lot. The wallet was Mr. McKenzie's and there was no activity on the credit cards for two days before when he had gotten gas at a station nearby. and They estimated the time of death was very recent say in the past 6 hours since discovery of the body,” Vince said with no emotion in his voice.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

6 Nov 2021    daily count 1869     cumulative count 8403 

“I never considered that possibility, but then I don’t deal with the same issues as you deal with daily. I’m not trying to excuse my ignorance; I am just saying that I had no idea. I see your point, I respect it, and I will be careful, but I am not going to move here or in your summer cottage. I do appreciate it and I am not saying I never will, in fact I was just thinking to myself about building a home here in the future now that it looks like I will have a small family,” replied Carl.  

“Well, I am glad you are considering the possibility of moving here and taking some precautions.” Replied Nate. 

Both brothers sat in silence for awhile sipping their drinks and enjoying the quiet of the rural setting. Occasionally Carmine would look out at the brothers from inside the house. She had a smile on her face because she knew that if anyone could convince Carl to stay closer to them, Nate was up for the task. Carmine was friendly to Carl’s ex-wife, but since the divorce, she was out at the house alone most days. If Cheryl married Carl, then she would have someone to come out and visit and talk with, and with Myra becoming part of the family, she would have another girl to teach crats to and recapture some of her childhood. In the distance, the rothers heard the rumble of the six-wheeler going over the grounds of the house. They could almost hear the laughter of the kids as they drove through the trails. Nate was tempted to turn on the app on his phone that was connected to the monitoring system and show Carl the video feed of the kids having fun and that he could track them wherever they went in the woods but decided that might make Carl more paranoid. Besides he could watch the video feed anytime he wanted to. Nate had left strict instructions with is secretary to not disturb him this weekend and for the first time in weeks, his phone wasn’t alerting him about meetings and client requests.  

“So, what are you going to tell work on Monday, are you going to take some time off while we go through the adoption process and updating your estate plans,” asked Nate? 

“Yeah, I suppose we should talk about that, how long does it take to get this stuff knocked out. I have a ton of leave but if I need to take some extended time off then I need to let them know how long I will be out. Its not like they will go under if I m not there for a while, but they have been really understanding since the diagnosis,” replied Carl. 

“We can go a few different ways, Angela will talk more about that later today, but I’d say if you do what I recommend then take a week off. Plus, if you plan on marrying Cheryl, you will want to take another week off later for the honeymoon and the ceremony, her moving in, closing out her lease and what not,” replied Nate. 

“You guys are the experts in this, I feel like I am just along for the ride,” replied Carl. 

“Well for school and all the administrative stuff that happens with kids, and depending on what Vince brings us today, basically we recreate Myra as an adopted kid from some contacts that we have, and no one would be the wiser. We just need a stable and believable story that everyone swears to make it happen including Myra and Cheryl. Do you think they would be up for that,” asked Nate? 

“I think Cheryl is game, Myra is the wildcard in all of this,” replied Carl. 

“Yeah, Myra has been the wildcard ever since she showed up. I have a feeling that there is more to her than we know. I don’t like mysteries; they have a way of ruining your plans. How is she taking not being around her father,” asked Nate? 

“Better than I would have at age nine. She told me she is starting to feel at home around Cheryl and I but she feels guilty about that and loving her father. The kid is in a tough spot. She seems to be resilient enough,” replied Carl. 

“Kids will surprise you with how tough they are. I could tell you stories about Seth and Rachel that would curl your toes and keep you up at night and make you rethink taking on Myra,” said Nate. 

“I have a feeling you will be getting a lot of calls from me about what Myra does as the years go on,” said Carl. 

“Well, I am hoping for many years of those calls,” replied Nate. 

“Yeah, me too,” said Carl quietly. 

“That’s good to hear. I haven’t heard you be so positive in a long time, like since before the diagnosis and the divorce. It’s a good look for you. Carmine and I have been so worried about you. We honestly were thinking of doing an intervention at some point but then this issue popped up and well maybe it’s a miracle or something,” said Nate. 

“Yeah, even though I am exhausted, it feels like a good exhaustion. Like its for the better of the universe or something,” replied Carl. 

“Get used to that feeling, it comes with the territory. If you change your eating habits and try being a vegetarian you might feel better, I know when we switched over, we all felt much better and I was able to knock out eighty-hour weeks no problem,” said Nate.  

“Are you seriously trying to convert me over to the dark side? Dude, that is low even for you. I mean I have a cursed diary, a new kid and possibly a new wife. I need my steak,” replied Carl.  

“It’s not like it’s a religious cult, its just a better way of living to help you feel better and might make that tumor go away or at least stop it from getting worse. It can’t hurt to try right,” asked Nate? 

“Let’s just resolve one issue at a time. If things go smoothly with Myra and Cheryl then I will consider going vegetarian,” said Carl annoyedly.  

“Okay, I’ll stop bugging you about that for now. You’ll eventually see that I am right as usual,” said Nate smugly. 

Both brothers were quiet for a long time after that enjoying their drinks. Carl started to nod off as the day wore on. It started to get warmer, and Nate got up quietly to raise the cover from behind Carl’s tail gate chair to shade him. Carl began to softly snore. Carmine opened the door with two drinks in her hands to refresh the drinks the brothers had, and Nate put his finger to his lips to let her know that Carl was dozing. She smiled and handed Nate his drink and went back into the house. Nate was glad to see Carl so relaxed and sleeping, he knew that Carl worked as hard as he did and was about to embark on a journey that he had already been on for years. Even though Nate was the middle child, he felt more like the older brother because the oldest brother Pete was twelve years older than Nate and sixteen years older than Carl. When Nate got married and had the kids, there was some necessary separation from Carl, and this left an emptiness in Nate’s life that he didn’t like to talk about. Being able to help out his little brother made him feel like he was making up for lost time and their parents would be proud to see how well they had both turned out.  

Nate went inside the house to help make lunch for everyone. They put the leaf in the dinning room table and Nate put out the plates and silverware while Carmine finished up the vegetarian dishes that she and the kids worked on after breakfast. Because there would be so many people at lunch, they put everything out on the antique buffet table that was the only piece of furniture from Nate and Carl’s parent’s estate. This was one of the reasons that Nate had chosen to pursue becoming an attorney. Their parents had been bad with money and planning and when they passed away, most of the furniture and collectables were sold to pay off debts and to provide them a humble grave and headstone. When Nate had realized how bad they had been swindled by the probate lawyers he made sure that one of the first practices he dismantled was the partnership that had stolen their family’s savings. Carl never knew all the details of what happened, and always wondered why the only item Nate had was the buffet.  

Carl woke up from his self-imposed nap just as the kids and Cheryl were coming back from the tour. He was glad that the kids and Cheryl didn’t see him napping, he never really liked anyone seeing him sleep. He looked around and saw Nate and Carmine finishing up setting the table and putting the food out.  

“Thanks for letting me get some shut eye in. Can I lend a hand,” asked Carl sheepishly? 

“It’s almost done, grab Cheryl and the kids and let them know lunch is ready would you,” replied Carmine? 

“I’m on it,” said Carl as he went to the back of the garage. “Hey Cheryl, did Seth get you wet on the tour?” 

“Nope, Rachel drove the whole time, wow your brother has a huge place out here. Its so beautiful. Myra grabbed some flowers for Carmine. The girls are going to make something out of the flowers today. I’m sorry I said I would cover the shift this afternoon,” replied Cheryl.  

“You can stay for lunch though right,” asked Carl? 

“I’m no going to miss meeting Vince. Seth and Rachel told me all about him. That guy sounds intense, he’s still coming right,” asked Cheryl? 

“As far as I know. Okay everyone lunch is ready. Myra did you have a good time,” asked Carl? 

“These woods are fantastic, and I can’t wait to see what we turn these flowers into. I’ve never seen this type of plant in my life. Can we stay overnight or come back tomorrow,” asked Myra? 

“We’ll see, right now we are going to eat some lunch. I am sure you both are hungry. And thank you Rachel for not getting them wet, we didn’t bring a change of clothes,” said Carl.  

“I hope you all can come by tomorrow and we can go swimming in the lake, it’s supposed to be pretty nice tomorrow uncle Carl. Maybe you can bring some more pictured of Paris or Mexico as well. I love those pictures you take and stories you tell,” said Rachel. 

“I think I am going to be out voted no matter what I say,” joked Carl. 

“Pretty much, get used to it,” said Cheryl. “I have a double tomorrow but next time I am bringing my swimsuit and maybe we can camp out in the woods.” 

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

4 Nov 2021    daily count 1893     cumulative count 6534   

Cheryl and Myra exited the gas station with bags in their hands laughing. They seemed to be having a great time. Both women approached Carl’s driver side window.  

“All good Carl, you ready to roll,” asked Cheryl? 

“Yeah sure, lets head out and get to my brother's house,” replied Carl. He was happy they were happy and obliviously weren’t listening to the NPR station. He pulled out into traffic with Cheryl right behind him. They made it to the gravel road that was Nate’s driveway. It was about a quarter mile to the house and the driveway was tree lined. Both cars pulled up to the big house on the lot where Nate and Carmine were outside with their kids on the front porch waiting for their guests. “Time to put on the game face,” thought Carl and he opened the car door. Nate and Carmine came off the porch and headed towards Carl. Carmine was the first to give Carl a hug and stepped back to look him over.  

“You look tired, are you feeling okay Carl? Nate, doesn’t he look tired to you,” asked Carmine? “And this must be Cheryl and Myra. Welcome to our house. Myra, Seth and Rachel are excited to meet you come on up to the porch and you all can go run around the yard while us adults do boring adult things. Cheryl, can I get you something to drink?” 

“I’m fine Carmine, we stopped for sodas on the way. We got you a card, here you go,” Cheryl handed an envelope to Carmine who opened it right away. After Carmine opened the card inside, she gave Myra and Cheryl a hug.  

“Welcome to the family and thank you for the card. Nate, here look at this card it is so sweet. Let's get up to the porch, you must be tired from that long drive. We keep telling Carl he needs to move out here and he can live with us, we have five acres of land that if he wanted, he could build a house on, but he is so stubborn,” Carmine said quickly.  

“Not as stubborn as my big brother, how are you old man,” asked Carl? 

“I prefer not to call it being stubborn, rather, it's simply that I am always right. How's the sleeping going, you do look a bit tired. Come on let's get to the porch and talk. Cheryl, Myra, Carl did tell you about Vince right,” asked Nate? 

“I want to see his glass eye, I don’t believe he has one,” said Myra jokingly. 

“Okay, but you have been warned. I am sorry we won’t be doing tug of war today, but I’m sure we can get you in the next game. Come on up and meet Seth and Rachel. They want to take you around the property in the ATV. Seth, did you grab an extra helmet for Myra,” asked Nate? 

“I think I’d like to go on that tour if you all don’t mind and if there is room,” asked Cheryl? 

“But of course, Seth, go grab another helmet for Cheryl and take the six-wheeler, it’ll be more comfortable for everyone,” replied Nate. 

“Sure thing dad. Hey Uncle Carl when are we going driving again,” asked Seth? 

“I have no idea what you are talking about, I would never take you out driving without letting your parents know and I certainly wouldn’t show you how to do donuts and neutral drops. If you checked your voice mail you would know next week, I will be picking up an old beater from my buddy’s house,” replied Carl.  

“I too his phone away when he got a B in biology, and I looked up what a Suzuki Samurai was and there is no way I’m letting you let my son drive a death trap like that ever,” replied Carmine. 

“Hey Seth, don’t get the six-wheeler stuck in the lake again, in fact Rachel gets to drive it this time,” said Nate. With that, Seth went into the garage and grabbed a helmet for Cheryl and all four of them trotted off behind the main garage to where they kept the ATV’s.  

“She looks too young for you Carl. You will always be looking around for her to cheat on you or she will run you more ragged than you already are,” said Carmine as she made her way to the porch and sat in the tailgate chair that she had been sitting in before they arrived.  

“Carmine, Cheryl and I haven’t talked about that yet and I’d appreciate you not mentioning it to her today. This whole situation has us a bit freaked out right now and I’d rather not add to more of the drama,” replied Carl.  

“You at least told her about the tumor I hope,” replied Carmine? 

“She was aware of that before this recent event happened. I go to the coffee shop she works at all the time, and I have had an episode or three while there in the past, so she knows how to deal with me when I have one. She has been a champ through all of this so can we cut her a little slack,” asked Carl? 

“Well, I’m sure she is not going to freely give up her life to care for a child that is not hers and for a man who is terminal,” replied Carmine. 

“I am sure glad Mom is dead Nate, Carmine makes a much better mother-in-law. How did Mom and Carmine get along,” asked Carl? 

“Famously. Carl, since Mom died, and you got the terminal diagnosis, you know we have always wanted to take care of you if you needed it. This is how Carmine expresses her love and care for you. We are all a bunch of old dogs, and we aren’t looking to learn new tricks. Everyone has said what they needed to say right,” asked Nate to both Carl and his wife? 

“Thank you, Carmine, I promise to ask for help when I need it and I promise not to get taken to the cleaners by anyone and I appreciate the care, truce,” asked Carl? 

“Truce. You’re my favorite little brother,” said Carmine. 

“I’m your only little brother,” joked Carl.  

“True, but you are still the favorite in this family. I am going to let you two talk while I get some knitting out for Myra when they come back. Nate dear, when is Vince coming over,” asked Carmine? 

“Should be here at 1 PM, he will text me if he is running late,” replied Nate. With that Carmine went into the house. Carl and Nate settled into their chairs next to each other. The chair’s arms had cup holders built into them, and each holder already had the drink each brother preferred, ginger ale for Carl and iced tea for Nate. They were quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet of outdoors. Carl understood each time he came over why Nate enjoyed this land, it was far away from the noise of the town. He was thinking about how it might be nice to build a house in this land with Myra and Cheryl. That thought calmed him down from Carmines questioning earlier. He knew it was in good fun, but he also knew that it came from concern over his future. Carl sipped on his ginger ale and sighed audibly.  

“So, on the way over I heard on the NPR station that they had identified a body found in a hotel a town or two over. He was named Harold McKenzie. I guess that will give something for Vince to go on. They gave a description of the body and it sounded like Myra’s father,” said Carl in a solemn voice.  

“Yeah, Vince said he had some information to check up on before he came over today, so we should get some answers. Really how are you holding up now that you don’t have to act normal in front of everyone,” replied Nate? 

“Well, the weirdness keeps getting weirder. So, I was listening to a podcast talking about unknown jazz musicians and Grover Brecht’s name came up. I turned off the podcast when I heard that and well, then I turned on the NPR radio station and heard about the body. If this is some big trick to get my estate before I die these guys are good,” replied Carl.  

“Let Vince know the podcast and the station you were listening to; he can check it out and give us answers. Now I am going to ask you are you sure you heard that, maybe this is just the exhausted side of you talking and hearing things. It would be totally understandable after the past few years you have had,” asked Nate? 

“I know what I heard. I know what this sounds like, it’s a bad script for a thriller movie and I’ll start jumping at any noise thinking it’s the boogie man come to get me. Nate, I heard what I heard, and I don’t see any cameras around here,” Carl replied annoyedly.  

“Well, you wouldn’t see the cameras installed here anyways, I was watching you from about a mile away on my phone. Vince is good at making sure hidden cameras stay hidden.  Do you want the three of you to stay here for a while until we get this all sorted out. I know I would feel better if we could keep an eye on you and the girls. Or we could set you all up in our summer cottage on the coast. You could take a vacation from work, Cheryl and you and Myra could bond and one of Vince’s guys could keep an eye on you and help out in case of trouble,” asked Nate? 

“You want me to go down to Cape Fear, like in the movie, and hope that I don’t see Harold McKenzie down there while watching a movie smoking a cigar and chasing all of us with a chain saw in hand. No thanks, I like my apartment just fine and I don’t want to stay here and be watched like a criminal,” replied Carl. 

“You are not a criminal, I have the cameras for my safety, you know the work I do. Most everyone thinks that lawyers that do corporate work have it easy, what they don’t know is that when you are dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, people get really stupid really quickly and think they are invincible,” said Nate. He took a few moments to let that sink in before he said, “I like to keep my family safe, and guess what little brother, that means you. Have you thought for a moment that you are not the target?” 

“What do you mean by that,” asked Carl? 

“You are the smart one in the family, how easy do you think it would be for someone to find out about you, find out about your medical condition and use that to get to me. I deal with large corporations and when we win a case, and I have a better record than Perry Mason, don’t you think they’d find a way to reach out after they lost their shirts and try to get back at me,” asked Nate? 

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along to what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at [email protected]

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event along the same vein as National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.

3 Nov 2021    daily count 667     cumulative count 4041  

“I make it a point to leave my nuclear missiles at home. usually,” joked Cheryl.  

“Well, let’s head out and have a great day,” said Carl. 

Cheryl and Myra went to Cheryl’s car and Carl headed toward his, he looked at her car and took in a deep breath. He knew this would be a long and hard day and even though he did get better sleep last night, he still wasn’t one hundred percent better from yesterday. It usually took a day or two to fully recover from his episodes and lately it had been taking almost a full two days before he was feeling up to anything.  

It was about 8:45 when they started to head out. Carl took the lead and Cheryl was close behind. Carly wasn’t a big fan of traveling in a convoy like this because when he was in the lead, the person behind either didn’t keep up or another car got between them. If Carl was following oft times he would follow to far back and get caught at red lights or other cars would cut him off and he wouldn’t be able to see where the lead car was going. This added to his anxiety about what was going to happen today. He was playing a podcast through the car speakers to keep his mind otherwise occupied. It was working, he was really getting into the conversation about unknown jazz musicians when the hos started talking about Grover Brecht. His heart skipped a few beats, and his skin became cold and clammy. “Dammit, I thought I told you to stop fucking with me,” he said to the voices coming out of his speakers. He was gripping the wheel in a death grip and started to lose feeling in his fingers. He could feel his jaw clench and his anger begin to boil. That’s when out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Cheryl was flashing her lights at him. He saw a gas station ahead and pulled into the parking lot near the entrance making sure that Cheryl had a spot to park next to him. She pulled up next to him on his passenger side and rolled down her window. He rolled down the window on the passenger side to hear what Cheryl was saying.  

“No worries, just forgot to grab something to drink and Myra needs to go to the bathroom. We’ll be right back, do you want anything,” Cheryl asked? 

“I’m find, I have a bottle of water, do you want me to come in with you,” asked Carl? 

“We can manage, be back in a sec,” replied Cheryl.  

As Carl sat in his car and waited, he switched off the podcast and turned on the local NPR station. They were having their yearly pledge drive. He almost turned it off and put a different podcast on when the announcer started talking about local news. He felt guilty as he usually did because he was not a supporter of the station and wondered if with his new life he should start to contribute, but that thought was pushed away when he thought about how much kids cost to raise. The announcer started talking about a man found in a hotel room the next town over. The police speculated that it was a suicide since there was no signs of foul play and the man had no luggage. The announcer gave the name of the man, Harold McKenzie and the description matched Myra’s father. There was no mention of a child in the report and Carl hoped that Cheryl didn’t listen to the NPR station. He quickly turned it off and found another podcast he had subscribed to; it was from a guy in Canada, and the stories he told were unbelievable. He was hoping that the story the host was telling would distract him until he got to his brother’s house. They were still about 30 minutes away.  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]