K.B. Pellegrino's Blog, page 18
August 30, 2019
Writing Crime Fiction
Today, I checked the writers enjoying a birthday on this day August 30. Mary Shelley comes to mind, but she didn't write in my genre. Frankenstein, her star novel, is early Sci-Fi.
The Scandinavian author Camilla Lackberg however writes crime fiction and has the privilege of writing using the dark and cold settings of her area of the world. I have often touted weather as inspiration for creative writing and for murder setting. Weather whether it be hot and sizzling, raining with water soaking the soul, or perhaps the icing of the setting allowing the icing of the soul that allows for murder. Camilla, like myself read crime novels early from her father's library. I stole crime novels from my dad's suitcase, after he would return from business travel.
Camilla is a prolific writer and an award winner. Many of her books have been translated into English.
I love that she writes about crime; that she writes a good story; that she develops her characters; and she loves plots.
She has enjoyed being part of the wave of crime fiction sourced from that section of Europe. To quote Camilla Lackberg:
Scandinavian crime fiction has become a great success all across the world and rightfully so. Sjowall and Wahloo ushered in a whole generation of Swedish crime writers, many of whom are now available in English.
I write about crime fiction in a western Massachusetts setting; in suburbia. I write characters who have local values. My plots examine the sociopaths who exist in every society even in Suburbia. My characters face murder and its implications.
K. B. Pellegrino
The Scandinavian author Camilla Lackberg however writes crime fiction and has the privilege of writing using the dark and cold settings of her area of the world. I have often touted weather as inspiration for creative writing and for murder setting. Weather whether it be hot and sizzling, raining with water soaking the soul, or perhaps the icing of the setting allowing the icing of the soul that allows for murder. Camilla, like myself read crime novels early from her father's library. I stole crime novels from my dad's suitcase, after he would return from business travel.
Camilla is a prolific writer and an award winner. Many of her books have been translated into English.
I love that she writes about crime; that she writes a good story; that she develops her characters; and she loves plots.
She has enjoyed being part of the wave of crime fiction sourced from that section of Europe. To quote Camilla Lackberg:
Scandinavian crime fiction has become a great success all across the world and rightfully so. Sjowall and Wahloo ushered in a whole generation of Swedish crime writers, many of whom are now available in English.
I write about crime fiction in a western Massachusetts setting; in suburbia. I write characters who have local values. My plots examine the sociopaths who exist in every society even in Suburbia. My characters face murder and its implications.
K. B. Pellegrino
August 28, 2019
New Beginnings
Mothers are crying and/or celebrating. The kids are back in school dressed for success. The kids mostly are excited to see their friends. Some actually look forward to learning. The teachers, despite some complaining about new rules just as the students also complain, look forward to the year. New beginnings are afoot!
Have you ever examined why this time of year often makes us clean our houses, organize our offices, buy a few new things in preparation for WHAT? For at least eight years, an...
August 23, 2019
Blood on the Floor
Yesterday Joe and I were checking him out of the hospital after a six day stay related to some blood clots. We were pleased because his status on leaving was deemed excellent. I talk about this because it is a reminder of how we reacted and how many also would have reacted to the highs and lows of sickness, hospitalization, recovery, and yes, BLOOD.
The nurse had removed the IV from Joe's left arm and put the usual bandage on it. Joe had spent the last six days resting in bed so the blood clots in his leg, heart, and lungs could slowly dissolve enough after the administering of a Heparin drip to ensure a safe going home to recover. We were happy. We walked carrying his hospital plastic sack and entered the elevator on the sixth floor. We were headed to the main entrance on the third floor. Just as the elevator door opened allowing us to exit on the third floor, blood started spurting from his arm all over the floor of the elevator.
What to do? Well, I jumped in with, "Joe, put your arm up." And he did. However he was dripping with blood. So we tried to close the doors to go up. The elevator was programmed to go all the way down before going up. Joe dripped blood all the way down to floor one; afterward the elevator with a mind of its own stopped at every floor on the way back up before hitting the sixth floor again. The welcomes we received at each floor when the doors opened were varied. One woman in a wheelchair told her companion, "I'm not going up with them and all that blood."
Finally we reached the sixth floor to his unit. He was rebandaged and sent safely on his way.
Joe feels some responsibility for all that blood explaining he is Italian and tends to wave his hands when he talks. But the real lesson to learn is BLOOD on the FLOOR in a hospital is a biohazard and leaves all overly excited. Joe did not have a serious problem. The blood resulted from his moving and walking without a tight enough bandage to prevent bleeding.
We laughed as we left the hospital knowing that we contributed to a little chaos, but despite the chaos, all were safe. I thought at that moment how blood on the floor in this case did not upset us. It just annoyed and delayed us for its inconvenience. I have experienced blood on the floor when its meaning was devastating. Last night was an okay night.
K. B. Pellegrino
The nurse had removed the IV from Joe's left arm and put the usual bandage on it. Joe had spent the last six days resting in bed so the blood clots in his leg, heart, and lungs could slowly dissolve enough after the administering of a Heparin drip to ensure a safe going home to recover. We were happy. We walked carrying his hospital plastic sack and entered the elevator on the sixth floor. We were headed to the main entrance on the third floor. Just as the elevator door opened allowing us to exit on the third floor, blood started spurting from his arm all over the floor of the elevator.
What to do? Well, I jumped in with, "Joe, put your arm up." And he did. However he was dripping with blood. So we tried to close the doors to go up. The elevator was programmed to go all the way down before going up. Joe dripped blood all the way down to floor one; afterward the elevator with a mind of its own stopped at every floor on the way back up before hitting the sixth floor again. The welcomes we received at each floor when the doors opened were varied. One woman in a wheelchair told her companion, "I'm not going up with them and all that blood."
Finally we reached the sixth floor to his unit. He was rebandaged and sent safely on his way.
Joe feels some responsibility for all that blood explaining he is Italian and tends to wave his hands when he talks. But the real lesson to learn is BLOOD on the FLOOR in a hospital is a biohazard and leaves all overly excited. Joe did not have a serious problem. The blood resulted from his moving and walking without a tight enough bandage to prevent bleeding.
We laughed as we left the hospital knowing that we contributed to a little chaos, but despite the chaos, all were safe. I thought at that moment how blood on the floor in this case did not upset us. It just annoyed and delayed us for its inconvenience. I have experienced blood on the floor when its meaning was devastating. Last night was an okay night.
K. B. Pellegrino
Blood on the Floor
Yesterday Joe and I were checking him out of the hospital after a six day stay related to some blood clots. We were pleased because his status on leaving was deemed excellent. I talk about this because it is a reminder of how we reacted and how many also would have reacted to the highs and lows of sickness, hospitalization, recovery, and yes, BLOOD.
The nurse had removed the IV from Joe's left arm and put the usual bandage on it. Joe had spent the last six days resting in bed so the blood clots in his leg, heart, and lungs could slowly dissolve enough after the administering of a Heparin drip to ensure a safe going home to recover. We were happy. We walked carrying his hospital plastic sack and entered the elevator on the sixth floor. We were headed to the main entrance on the third floor. Just as the elevator door opened allowing us to exit on the third floor, blood started spurting from his arm all over the floor of the elevator.
What to do? Well, I jumped in with, "Joe, put your arm up." And he did. However he was dripping with blood. So we tried to close the doors to go up. The elevator was programmed to go all the way down before going up. Joe dripped blood all the way down to floor one; afterward the elevator with a mind of its own stopped at every floor on the way back up before hitting the sixth floor again. The welcomes we received at each floor when the doors opened were varied. One woman in a wheelchair told her companion, "I'm not going up with them and all that blood."
Finally we reached the sixth floor to his unit. He was rebandaged and sent safely on his way.
Joe feels some responsibility for all that blood explaining he is Italian and tends to wave his hands when he talks. But the real lesson to learn is BLOOD on the FLOOR in a hospital is a biohazard and leaves all overly excited. Joe did not have a serious problem. The blood resulted from his moving and walking without a tight enough bandage to prevent bleeding.
We laughed as we left the hospital knowing that we contributed to a little chaos, but despite the chaos, all were safe. I thought at that moment how blood on the floor in this case did not upset us. It just annoyed and delayed us for its inconvenience. I have experienced blood on the floor when its meaning was devastating. Last night was an okay night.
K. B. Pellegrino
The nurse had removed the IV from Joe's left arm and put the usual bandage on it. Joe had spent the last six days resting in bed so the blood clots in his leg, heart, and lungs could slowly dissolve enough after the administering of a Heparin drip to ensure a safe going home to recover. We were happy. We walked carrying his hospital plastic sack and entered the elevator on the sixth floor. We were headed to the main entrance on the third floor. Just as the elevator door opened allowing us to exit on the third floor, blood started spurting from his arm all over the floor of the elevator.
What to do? Well, I jumped in with, "Joe, put your arm up." And he did. However he was dripping with blood. So we tried to close the doors to go up. The elevator was programmed to go all the way down before going up. Joe dripped blood all the way down to floor one; afterward the elevator with a mind of its own stopped at every floor on the way back up before hitting the sixth floor again. The welcomes we received at each floor when the doors opened were varied. One woman in a wheelchair told her companion, "I'm not going up with them and all that blood."
Finally we reached the sixth floor to his unit. He was rebandaged and sent safely on his way.
Joe feels some responsibility for all that blood explaining he is Italian and tends to wave his hands when he talks. But the real lesson to learn is BLOOD on the FLOOR in a hospital is a biohazard and leaves all overly excited. Joe did not have a serious problem. The blood resulted from his moving and walking without a tight enough bandage to prevent bleeding.
We laughed as we left the hospital knowing that we contributed to a little chaos, but despite the chaos, all were safe. I thought at that moment how blood on the floor in this case did not upset us. It just annoyed and delayed us for its inconvenience. I have experienced blood on the floor when its meaning was devastating. Last night was an okay night.
K. B. Pellegrino
August 21, 2019
Bumps in the Road
Artists, crafters, writers, readers, professionals, engineers, teachers, builders, homeless, infirmed, and I could go on, BUT, I mean all of us attempting to live a fruitful life – all have bumps in the road of life. Some have bumps where the experience faced requires climbing mountains.
Several close to me are facing stem cell protocols, bone marrow transplants, blood clots in heart and lungs, and strokes. When I look over the years of my life, I see a long winding road twisting and turning...
August 18, 2019
Adversity as an Impetus
I have been reading about Paul G. Stoltz's concept of the Adversity Quotient (tm) in the book "The Adversity Advantage" and I buy into it. His theory has been quoted as, "the most widely used method in the world for measuring and strengthening how we deal with adversity..."
Good friends of mine, the Savicki's son, Michael, at age 24 years, suffered an accident leaving him a quadriplegic. The horror of their suffering is unimaginable to most of us. What did their son, Michael Savicki do to fight adversity? He prevailed as shown by the following: the first to run the Boston Marathon as an able-bodied and disabled-body person; became a well respected writer, worked with the disabled to overcome obstacles; is a parent to a lovely daughter, Caroline; a responsible husband and son; a traveler; and maintains his life with joy.
My own daughter, Kerstin, suffered multiple skull fractures and other trauma in a car accident at age eighteen years. She was in a coma for weeks and paralyzed on her right side. What did she do? She decided that she would walk and she would be fine and worked toward that goal. She finished her degree and master's and has taught special education for over twenty eight years. She is a parent of two boys. Notable is her attitude of kindness and love for the sufferings of others.
Adversity, as I have seen, is often a prime motivator. I have heard phrases such as, "I can't let this get me down and ruin my life," or "Well, these things happen, let's get on with it."
Stoltz reminds us, joined by the blind athlete, Erik Weihenmayer that life is what you make of it. He has his seven principles which are enlightening. Michael Savicki is mentioned as a contributor to this book and that does not surprise.
This author truly believes in working through adversity to reach our life goals. I think it takes great faith in ourselves and in God or maybe you think the universe to embrace what can be accomplished when we are driven to overcome.
K. B. Pellegrino
Good friends of mine, the Savicki's son, Michael, at age 24 years, suffered an accident leaving him a quadriplegic. The horror of their suffering is unimaginable to most of us. What did their son, Michael Savicki do to fight adversity? He prevailed as shown by the following: the first to run the Boston Marathon as an able-bodied and disabled-body person; became a well respected writer, worked with the disabled to overcome obstacles; is a parent to a lovely daughter, Caroline; a responsible husband and son; a traveler; and maintains his life with joy.
My own daughter, Kerstin, suffered multiple skull fractures and other trauma in a car accident at age eighteen years. She was in a coma for weeks and paralyzed on her right side. What did she do? She decided that she would walk and she would be fine and worked toward that goal. She finished her degree and master's and has taught special education for over twenty eight years. She is a parent of two boys. Notable is her attitude of kindness and love for the sufferings of others.
Adversity, as I have seen, is often a prime motivator. I have heard phrases such as, "I can't let this get me down and ruin my life," or "Well, these things happen, let's get on with it."
Stoltz reminds us, joined by the blind athlete, Erik Weihenmayer that life is what you make of it. He has his seven principles which are enlightening. Michael Savicki is mentioned as a contributor to this book and that does not surprise.
This author truly believes in working through adversity to reach our life goals. I think it takes great faith in ourselves and in God or maybe you think the universe to embrace what can be accomplished when we are driven to overcome.
K. B. Pellegrino
August 13, 2019
Environmental Progress…
PHOTO —The Author’s Specialist in Environmental Science, Joey III speaking at the North East Division Conference of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in Pittsburg, PA on ecosystem services in Environmental Justice Communities in Springfield, MA. His lecture shared the amount of tree canopy in certain areas of Springfield. The discussion reflects his current work, managing a free tree program as part of the Greening the Gateway Cities Program for the Hill-McKnight neighborhood of Sprin...
August 10, 2019
Unexpected Joy
Joe and I were catching a supper at the Crepes Tea House in West Springfield, MA after Saturday mass and before meeting friends. We often go to this restaurant for its interesting Russian style menu. I particularly enjoy a non-gluten crepe along with their meals. The farm cheese pancakes are to die for. Their salads are fresh.The soups are wonderful. But tonight was special. Tonight brought unexpected joy. There was a music performance accompanying our supper.
In a world where everything is o...
August 9, 2019
Reading as a Comfort
I've spoken recently to many about their reading habits, and realized that I hadn't a clue about how times have changed. Many read an hour a day on social media and believe it is adult reading. Some read self-help books. Religious readings are important to many. Certain age groups enjoy sci-fi or romance or LGBT or young age group literature.
What is lost is the compulsion to read; you know that feeling "I must lose myself in a book." I have that compulsion. I must listen to new ideas. New ideas are distributed in both fiction and non-fiction. I believe I've learned more about history by reading seriously good historical novels. Sci Fi is a vehicle, not my favourite, but when I read it, I often turn to Google to chase down the basis for the read. I always find it. Murder and mystery and spy stories allow me to read (and in my case write) about horrors that occur in reality but do not threaten me or other readers. Often motives are examined in a mystery murder plot that expand my or our view of why events happened in our news life.
My philosophy is to read just a little in anything that I come across. After ten pages, I know what to buy to finish or to sit in the library or bookstores and read. Every author offers an opportunity for me to grow emotionally and intellectually expand. Since I love to travel and have traveled to many exotic places, my mind in reading allows me to travel in a special way to feel and test in a safe place many ideas.
Reading for me is a necessary comfort.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
What is lost is the compulsion to read; you know that feeling "I must lose myself in a book." I have that compulsion. I must listen to new ideas. New ideas are distributed in both fiction and non-fiction. I believe I've learned more about history by reading seriously good historical novels. Sci Fi is a vehicle, not my favourite, but when I read it, I often turn to Google to chase down the basis for the read. I always find it. Murder and mystery and spy stories allow me to read (and in my case write) about horrors that occur in reality but do not threaten me or other readers. Often motives are examined in a mystery murder plot that expand my or our view of why events happened in our news life.
My philosophy is to read just a little in anything that I come across. After ten pages, I know what to buy to finish or to sit in the library or bookstores and read. Every author offers an opportunity for me to grow emotionally and intellectually expand. Since I love to travel and have traveled to many exotic places, my mind in reading allows me to travel in a special way to feel and test in a safe place many ideas.
Reading for me is a necessary comfort.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
August 4, 2019
Your Subconscious
Our subconscious is busy even while we are sleeping and resting our conscious mind. The two do communicate, so I'm told. Careful, you must be, then. What we think is churned upon by the subconscious and may become our guide. Thinking positively is the mantra for good results.
I've been reading a book, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., D.D. Revised by Ian MCMahan, Ph.D. The author has enhanced my thinking about positivity as a goal in all my efforts. His thoughts on how to get your subconscious to work for you are simple, but in my estimation, powerful. Think that results will be good, think good things, expect the best, and, voila, your habits change and the results will change.
Aside from generally keeping your conscious mind hopeful, kind, generous, and expecting the best, you will automatically signal your subconscious to do the same as it does its heavy combat duty of analysis. That analysis could do away with guilt which has no place in post action; its only place is in prevention. Analysis could do away with grudges which when thought about, and/or carried out, affect yours and others karma. Resentments, hatred, ill will, and hostility are useless.
Despite the above messages, I assure you that righteous actions are absolutely supported. Thinking kindly in your conscious mind as the pilot program for your subconscious mind does not suggest you must overlook evil directed to you. Your reliance on your judgment hopefully includes a connection bigger than yourself whether it be God or some concept of the universe.
Think well, do well. The result is you'll be well.
K. B. Pellegrino
I've been reading a book, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., D.D. Revised by Ian MCMahan, Ph.D. The author has enhanced my thinking about positivity as a goal in all my efforts. His thoughts on how to get your subconscious to work for you are simple, but in my estimation, powerful. Think that results will be good, think good things, expect the best, and, voila, your habits change and the results will change.
Aside from generally keeping your conscious mind hopeful, kind, generous, and expecting the best, you will automatically signal your subconscious to do the same as it does its heavy combat duty of analysis. That analysis could do away with guilt which has no place in post action; its only place is in prevention. Analysis could do away with grudges which when thought about, and/or carried out, affect yours and others karma. Resentments, hatred, ill will, and hostility are useless.
Despite the above messages, I assure you that righteous actions are absolutely supported. Thinking kindly in your conscious mind as the pilot program for your subconscious mind does not suggest you must overlook evil directed to you. Your reliance on your judgment hopefully includes a connection bigger than yourself whether it be God or some concept of the universe.
Think well, do well. The result is you'll be well.
K. B. Pellegrino
