The Grass is Always Greener ...

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Why am I one of THOSE PEOPLE? Why am I always looking beyond the next hill? The next mountain? The next whatever? That is something I have asked myself over and over again since I was a small child. I have never been content to stay in one place. I always want to see whatever lies over the horizon.

I'm a descendant of a long line of adventurers, malcontents, nomads, travelers, wanderers, pioneers. In my lineage are Viking raiders, Scottish Highlanders, Irish warriors, British pilgrims, German immigrants, American pioneers. So I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I'm always wanting to travel somewhere else, to move to a place I've never lived before.

In my last post I mentioned that my husband, Ben, and I have been married for thirty years as of last Friday. My response was, "Let's go for another thirty years." Ben said, "What???" Of course, we fully intend "to keep on keeping on" until our final days, whenever that may be. In the meantime, we both have "itchy feet" and are ready to try something new for the years ahead, assuming we do have some years ahead.

We started out so many years ago as kids living next door to each other in southern California. No, we never dated as kids, just neighbors and friends. It wasn't until many years later, as adults, that we met up, married and started our adventures together. In thirty years we've lived in Florida, Nevada, Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Florida. Are you seeing a pattern here?

For some reason we keep returning to Florida as if drawn by a magnet. It must have something to do with the glorious beaches, the tropical temperatures and all that nature which surrounds every bit of Florida. It certainly couldn't be due to the hot/humid summers, the vicious mosquitoes and no-see-ums that sometimes eat us alive, the hurricanes that send us into hiding now and then, the alligators and water moccasins that cruise our inland waterways, or the sharks that cruise our beaches.

There's just something about Florida that draws us back every time we move away. We've been back here for three and a half years this last time. Now we're getting antsy to venture off to parts unknown. We've been cruising the Internet looking for that perfect place to retire, at least for the next few years. Maybe not a forever place, but someplace to "sit a spell"

Our current sights are heading in the direction of New Mexico. We've vacationed there through the years and always thought it would be a great place to live. So much beauty, so much history. To live near the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe Trail. Taos? Santa Fe? Abiquiu? Angel Fire? What incredible places for we two dreamers.

So the last few days have been spent looking at houses via Realtor.com and other real estate sights online and talking to a realtor friend about selling our house here in Florida. The housing market in our part of the state is starting to make a comeback. So maybe our timing is right? Or maybe our timing is all wrong. We're adventurous souls, so we'll toss the dice and hope that lady luck is with us this go-round.

I don't know if we'll follow through with this idea, but it's certainly worth dreaming about.  So what do you all think? If you could drop what you're doing and venture off to somewhere else, where would you go? I'm hoping that you all will add some comments and let us know about those places you'd love to live, even if it's just in your dreams.

By the way, Ben just reminded me that "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."

Fiction vs. Reality

It has come to my attention recently that some people who read fiction are expecting reality. Now I have to ponder that a moment. I have never considered reality as a definition of fiction. So maybe it's time to check with Webster's.

Webster's says of fiction: "to shape, fashion, feign," "something invented by the imagination or feigned," "an invented story," "fictitious literature (as novels or short stories)," "an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth," "a useful illusion or pretense," "the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination."

Well, I think that pretty much covers the definition of fiction. Now what about reality?

Webster's says of reality: "the quality or state of being real," "a real event, entity, or state of affairs," "the totality of real things and events."

So this is what I think/believe. Fiction is not meant to be reality. Fiction may be close to reality, a kind of embellishment of reality, it may even mimic some of reality. Some fiction touches on the darker side of reality, or the sadness and turmoil of reality. Other fiction is imagination, make-believe, fantasy, escapism, romanticism, I could go on and on. Basically, fiction is a story. It may contain bits and pieces that are close to reality, but it is still a story.

For those readers who demand that fiction be reality, perhaps they should read non-fiction instead? Or perhaps they should be more selective of what they read? Some fiction is closer to reality than others. Mainsteam and literary fiction is definitely closer to reality than say, paranormal fiction, sci-fi or fantasy.

I write fiction, because that's what I enjoy writing. I don't claim that my stories are "true stories," though you may find some truths in what I write. That is true of most authors of fiction.

When I sit down to read a piece of fiction, I'm looking for a story I enjoy reading. I want to hear an interesting voice telling an interesting story. It may be contemporary, historical, fantasy, suspense, but I want it to be a story that catches me.

I read a lot of books of all kinds. I don't stick to one genre or another. I like to be surprised when I read. I'm not talking about a bunch of action or surprise endings. I'm talking about a new way of viewing things in general, or a new view of an old story, or just a darn good read.

I'm usually reading because I want to escape. If I want reality, all I have to do is turn on the TV and listen to the news. That's about as much reality as I care to deal with, thank you very much. In reality, the ordinary girl doesn't always get to marry the prince. In reality, the prince doesn't always win the girl.

I like feel-good stories when I want to feel good.  I like scary stories when I want to be scared, which I have to say isn't all that often. I like to read about the good guys winning over the bad guys. I like my characters to find the love of their life and to have a fairytale ending. This is just me. Others read for other reasons.

It's just, as far as I'm concerned, if you're wanting to read reality, you probably won't find what you're looking for in fiction.

Since all of us have a different definition of fiction, I'd love to hear yours.