Getting to Know Danny, Part One

Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. Today things are  going to be different between you and me, My Dear Readers. Today I am going to talk about me, my life… the past twenty-five years. Then I am going to tell  you where The Other Shoe is headed. Where I plan to take this blog, and if willing, all of you. This… this is where I have been, this past week… in deep thought about this article, this blog, this opportunity, and you. My Dear Readers.

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For the past three years… March 2010 is when I started The Other Shoe. Then, I had no idea where I wanted to go with; this blog, my writing, my audience,… nothing. I knew only one thing, in order to stay sane I needed to write. The path from where I was in my life, the difficulties and loss, I had to pass through this stage… again. I had to write.

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At ten years old I used money earned mowing lawns to buy a Smith Corona manual (1940’s or 50’s) typewriter. Ten year old American boys, from the south… Southeast Texas, used their chores money or weekly allowance for; candy, bubble gum, comic books, or even epic comics. They did not work for a whole summer to buy a used and beat up typewriter with a broken ‘y’ key. Danny Hanning, did just that… he used a summer’s earnings (mowing lawns, working with my Dad at his office and in the garage) a purchased an old broken-down typewriter that did not work nor did it have a ribbon.

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At first, my parents let me keep it in thou house. I cleaned it up, fixed broken keys (something I learned in the garage working with my Dad on teletype machines) and I ordered a ribbon through the mail. So long as I was working on the machine, nobody had a problem with it being in my room with me. 

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Then, I started writing. I wrote every single day. I wrote before going to school, and as soon as I got home. Then, I couldn’t sleep. Seemed ideas, for me, flood late at night and early in the morning. Every writer is different. They have music they like to listen to, rooms they prefer writing in, a specific view from a specific window. People and animals can act as a writer’s muse. Not only writers. Artisans of all media have the same types of idiosyncratic behaviors.

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You, My Dear Readers, will just have to wait until I am published, and interviewed, to find out my idiosyncrasies. I have shared a few things, over the nearly 300 articles I have published in the past three years. Writing, as I have, for the past forty-five years I have picked up some pretty interesting idiosyncrasies. I enjoy listening to the same artist, even the same album, while writing. ‘The Adventures of Princess Nadia’  has a musical artist and album.

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I took a long break, from writing, while I performed on stage. I have always been in choir, since the third grade. I stayed in choir all the way through high school. Finishing high school, I ‘double-lettered’ in liberal arts at Pearland High, and received my letterman jacket reflecting that ‘Double Lettering’ in Liberal Arts. To this day I am quite proud of that accomplishment. My junior year  competed in Universal Scholastic League competitions in; choir, debate and One Act Plays,

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Alas, I only won awards in the ‘One Act Play’ category. However, I did take my school all the way to Regional, one step away from competing in ‘State’. More than anything, as a High School Junior, I wanted to take my school to ‘State’.

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I worked very hard, and for long hours, in visual media. I know that it has added to me, who I am, and my ability to write. Even while I was; acting, debating and singing I was still writing. I loved reading science fiction, as a child, as a teenager, and as a young adult.  Know readers will see that in my upcoming novel. However, I refuse to be limited… caged in by a category. I have larger aspirations than any one category. Recently, I was discussing my work with another writer. A artier that is quite familiar with my work.

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He asked me how to classify myself as a writer. Was a sci-fi writer, a fantasy sci-fi or more science heavy? I tried to explain how I saw my work(s). I also explained that one had to consider my work with political articles and foreign affairs. He smiled, and laughed, and then he asked if I wanted to know how he saw me. Well, of course I am always very interested in knowing the thoughts and feelings of the people who read my work.

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“Humanist” He said that one word, “Humanist”. He told me that, in reading my articles and what I would show him of ‘Princess Nadia, he saw one thread that connected all I have ever written. I write, he tells me, “with the desire to improve the human condition”.

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That will be all for today, September 1^st, 2013 ‘Labor Day’.

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As always, I would like to express my thanks to all of you, My Dear Readers. That you honor me by coming here and reading my words. In the coming weeks, months and years I have the desire to write to entertain and open eyes. Given the chance, I know that I can and will accomplish both.

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Thank you!