Classic Interview: Rip Van Winkle

 Rip Van Winkle

 

The days are drawing shorter. Even though it's only late August, it's almost dark when i walk the dog at 5:30h am. In fact this morning I almost collapsed back into bed for another 40 winks.

This gave me the idea for the subject of this week's interview. Who better than the world's deepest sleeper, Rip Van Winkle? So, let's see if we can rouse ourselves enough to chat with ol' Rip.

Greg:  Welcome, Rip Van Winkle. Thanks for taking some time to chat with us today. I know time is precious to you.

Rip:  That's right, sonny. I wasted 20 years up in the hills, don't ya know.

Greg:  Can you tell us a little bit about that? How did you come to be lost in the hills for 20 years?

Rip:  First off, I didn't come to be lost. I came to hunt. Second, I weren't lost, I was bewitched.

Greg:  Oh, yes. My mistake. How did you fall asleep for 20 years?

Rip:  Well, it were like this. I like t' take things easy like, but m' wife is always after me t' be doin' things. Plow the fields, chop the wood, wash up for supper. She gives me so much t' do that I don't know whether I'm comin' or goin' most o' the time.

Now, I think you'll agree that I were totally in the right t' go off every now and again t' ramble in the woods, or t' go off and get myself some shut eye. This time, I decided that I needed t' get away an' do some huntin'. So, I took my ol' dog, Wolf.

Greg:  Oh, so you sat down and fell asleep for a long, long time? 

Rip:  No I did not, dadgum it! I fell in with some strange characters, don't ya know. I was walkin' up the mountain, an' there was a powerful loud thunder boomin' over m' head. Wolf an' I caught up with a strange feller. He was dressed all in old fashioned clothes and he was totin' a keg. I walked with him up the mountain.

Well, what do I see at the top, but a group of fellers playin' nine-pins. Every time the ball hit the pins, it made a sound like thunder, don't ya know. These fellers had long beards, an' was wearin' ol' fashioned clothes, just like the man with the keg. I hung around for a bit, watchin' their game, but after a spell, I got t' be powerful thirsty. I looked around, an' saw the keg.

The other fellers had been drinkin' from it, an' they saw me eyein' it. They give me a mug, an' I went over an' filled it, then drank it down in one go. It were powerful cold, an' refreshin'. Well, I drank down a few mugfuls, an' soon I was feelin' powerful tired. I laid m'self down under a tree, an' before I knew it, I fell fast asleep.

Greg:  Yeah, but you didn't really fall asleep for 20 years--did you?

Rip:  I did, sure as you're standin' there. When I woke up, m' gun was rotted away, an' Wolf weren't nowhere t' be found. I had a long beard, an' m' joints was all creaky. I tottered down the mountain, an' I almost didn't recognize m' village. Everything was different, don't ya know.

Greg:  That must have been a little bit disconcerting.

Rip:  Ya got that right. I let out a cheer for ol' King George III, an' folks got right upset. See, I didn't know there'd been a revolution or something. Some other George was in charge--Washington his name was. Everything was different.

Greg:  How awful.

Rip:  I were a bit taken aback, I can tell ya, but it weren't without it's benefits. My children were about, an' m' daughter took me in. I didn't have t' do a lick o' work, just sit on the porch an' watch the world go by. Sure was a change from m' earlier days. Much more peaceful.

Greg:  What about your wife?

Rip:  Dead an' gone, God rest her.

Greg:  That must have been a blow.

Rip:  Well, I'll tell ya. I was sad she'd died, don't misunderstand, but I felt like I had a new lease on life, don't ya know. That ol' battleaxe never gave me a minute's peace. Like I said before, she were always givin' me things t' do. Paint the house, fix the roof, dig a well.

An' jawin' all the time. 'Get up an' milk the cows, muck out the barn, feed the chickens. Don't just lie there, get up, there's work t' be done! Listen t' me when I'm talkin' t' ya!'

Well, it all worked out. She got almost 20 years o' not havin' t' nag at me all the time, an' I got me a nice rest an' some peace an' quiet in m' old age. Ya can't ask for fairer than that.

Greg:  No, I suppose you can't. It certainly sounds like your dreams came true. Well, thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. I wish you all the best.

Rip:  Thank you, young man. I don't know about you, but I'm powerful tired all of a sudden. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go home an' take a little nap. Time's gettin' on, an' if I hurry, I can get that nap in an' be done in time for supper, don't ya know. It don't pay for a man o' my age t' miss out on his sleep.

A Writer'S Week #156: Blessings All Around

 A lot has been happening since my last column. Last weekend, I took my daughter and her things to,her new apartment in North Carolina. She is starting classes in graduate school tomorrow. She is taking the first step in the next chapter of her life, and I couldn't  be prouder.

On the sales side, I've had a number of successful events. I also had some great feedback from a couple young readers who are enjoying my books.

Finally. I am happy to say that today I have finished the first draft of Serpent's Den. It is 95 typewritten pages, 19,500 words. It is about the same length as Fire & Ice. That's good. I am trying to be consistent with this series.

The Golden Lady

One day, I am planning to release the entire series in one volume, so keeping each story to 100 pages or less is my goal. 

As for the draft, I think it's pretty good. I won't know for sure until I read it through. Then, I will make changes. My hope, though, is that they won't have to be major. Once I've edited it, then I can pass along the manuscript to my test readers and my artist, Emily Hurst Pritchett.

I'll let you know how my read through goes next time.

Peace

Classic Interview: Huckleberry Finn

 Hello. Way back in January, our first interview was with Tom Sawyer. This week, we were able to catch up to his cohort, Huckleberry Finn.

Greg:  Welcome, Huckleberry. I'm really glad you could take some time away from the Mississippi to come up north. 

Huckleberry:  Thank 'ee very much fer invitin' me. I aint never had no call t' come up this ways before. Mighty purty country ya got here. By the way, ya kin call me Huck, all m' friends does.

Greg:  Well, thanks, Huck. That leads nicely into my first question. Can you tell us a little bit about your friends? 

Huck:   Why sure. Prob'ly m' best friend'd be Tom Sawyer. Him 'n' me is thick as thieves. We've had all sorts of adventures. M' favorite was when we out skunked Injun Joe an' got a whole passel of money that set us up real nice. That's when I saved the Widder Douglas. 

Greg:  Yes, Tom told me a lot about that when I spoke with him. She adopted you, right?

Huck:  Yeah, she did. She tried t' sivilize me, and made me go t' school. She said she was tryin' t' pay me back, but I shore could think of better ways t' do it. Anyways, m' pap weren't too pleased by it all. It's funny, but when I were poor he didn't pay me no mind, but as soon as I wuz rich he tried t' take me away. 

He drug me way out t' the woods, which weren't too bad, as a matter o' fact, compared with school. But Pap wuz powerful taken with drink most ever night, an' he'd get real mean an' dangerous. So, I fooled ever one inta thinkin' I was murdered, an' I snuck away t' Jackson's Island, where I was gonna live like a king.

Greg:  Why didn't you stay there?

Huck:  I met up with ol' Miss Watson's slave, Jim, who was escapin' t' Ohia. We decided t' team up an' lit out on a raft t' see some o' the mighty Mississip. At first, I looked at Jim as just a slave. I thought he might be useful. But, by an' by, I come t' realise he were a person same as me, an' we become good friends. Funny how floatin' on a river just settin' an' talkin' with a body can teach ya a whole lot more than any book learnin'.

Greg:  Did you and Jim have many adventures?

 

Huck:  Oh my, yes. We was stuck in the middle of a feud 'tween the Grangerfords and the Shephersons which made the Hatfields and McCoys look like blood kin. 'Most all the Grangerford menfolk were killed. It weren't pretty.

Then we met up with two fellers who said they was a Duke an' a King. We took them along an' we put in t' towns along the river puttin' on shows. Jim got all painted up in blue an' pretended t' be a Arab--don't know what bein' blue had t' do with it. Anyhow, this duke an' this king got us involved in some scheme t' steal money from the dead. I took the money away from 'em an' hid it in a coffin.

Jim an' me got away, but the duke an' the king found us an' escaped with us. They wound up sellin' Jim an' then I had t' rescue him.

Greg:  It all sounds like a wild adventure. How did it come to be written down?

Huck:  Oh, well there's an interestin' story 'bout that. Ya see, me 'n' Tom met up with this ol' feller by the name o' Mark Twain, an' Mr. Twain was powerful interested in hearin' 'bout our adventures. So, first he had Tom tell his story--in his own words mind--an' he wrote 'em down. Then, it was my turn. I told him all 'bout the Widder an' ol' Jim an' the Duke an' the King. Mr. Twain, he sat there a scribblin' away with an ol' lead pencil just as fast as I could talk. Now that's sommethin', 'cuz I kin talk like the wind.

Anyways, he sat there a scribblin' an' when I was done, he give both of us a couple licorice whips an' a chaw of tobacca each, an' then took off without so much as a thank'ee. Then 'fore I knows it, these here books show up at the gen'ral store. They's all 'bout me 'n' Tom. Made a powerful amount o' money for ol' Mr. Twain, I hear, but I aint seen none of it.

Greg:  Umm, I see. Well, I suppose there are two sides to every story, and that's a side that I've never heard before. Thank you very much for your time, Huck. It's been great settin' on the river and jawin' with you for a spell.

Huck:  Any time. Maybe next time y'all can come t' St. Petersburg an' have Sunday supper with me 'n'  the Widder Douglas. She cooks good, but she makes me wash m' hands say m' prayers before I eat. Then there's the bath I have t' take ever Saturday night, don't even get me started on that! I guess I'm gonna have t' get used t' bein' sivilized.