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Soulati-'TUDE!

The Happy Friday Series: Seven Happy Peeps

12/27/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Soulati-thank-you.jpgUsed to be, I’d look out the window and be able to spot my social media BFF in the stream. Today? Not so much…times, they are a-changin’. People come and go, and this The Happy Friday Series has seen so many amazing contributors who have been part of this community since the earliest days. It’s not that friendships are fleeting, it’s just that we know how much of a time suck social media truly is. When there are bills to pay, mouths to feed, and billable gigs at which to work, that means there is less time to stay connected.

This multi-tribute recognizes seven authors in this highly popular and longest-running series. Without each of you helping with your personal stories and shares, there is no way I could have made this series happen. Fact. Where else have you seen a year-long series every Friday without fail about a toughie topic like happiness?

Happy Friday Gratitude

Nowhere. You guys made this happen; I am forever grateful. In no particular order, here is my gratitude for this Friday:

  • Geoff Reiner. Oh where oh where has the little dog gone? Geoff? Your contribution to this series was so heartfelt and showed the work you do to always grow into maturity. Geoff wrote about the science of happiness and do-overs. I still love this post because it shows that Geoff isn’t going through life happenstance; he’s a serious young man on a mission. Come back and see us again, Geoff! Happy New Year!
  • Betsy Cross. Ahhhh; there’s absolutely no one on the interwebz more genuine and generous with her love, blessings, carings, and friendships. She writes the most heartfelt posts on her blog, and she wrote here about being the sun and about serving. If you ever need a dose of authenticity, please stop in to Betsy’s house. About now, she’s snowed in huge and perhaps without electricity (be safe Betsy!), so perhaps you’ll consider waiting for spring?
  • Stan Faryna. Oh, Staneo, Staneo, wherefore art thou? I miss you profusely, Mistah. I have not had the pleasure of hearing your voice on the phone, and I haven’t seen you about these parts in quite some time. We established a strong thing, you know, and I really want to rekindle; stop in, Friend…say hi, let me know you’re well. Miss you mucho. Happiest of the season! Thanks for contributing here with your so-fitting piece.
  •  Brian Meeks. When Kaarina Dillabough and I decided to blogjack Brian’s lonely blog one day it was the start of a firestorm. Brian, who goes by @ExtremelyAverage (I have never liked that negative, but there’s a story about it that pertains strictly to him), was a budding author back in the day, and now he’s quite famous. He timed a series of guest posts and interviews on a number of blogs, including this Happy Friday Series so he could launch his first book, Henry Wood Detective Agency Series https://soulati.com/the-happy-friday-series-five-seconds-and-happy. Brian is one analytics guru; I’ve never met anyone who knows his book sales to the minute. I need a bit of his sauce to give a care about mine! Thanks for writing, Brian!
  •  Nancy Jean. Although we’ve never had the privilege of speaking, Nancy pops up in the stream to tell me she’s paying attention (when I least expect it and what a lovely surprise!). She jumped in to write, and her piece is so personal and therapeutic; I applaud her for sharing the work she does to create and sustain happiness. As a communications professional, she is one of the most private personally. We spend our lives promoting others, and that means we don’t want or wish the spotlight. Get further acquainted with Nancy here.
  • Brad Lovett.  Of all the gems on this page, I’ve had the privilege of meeting Brad not once, but THREE times IRL at Social Slam in Knoxville! How’s that for the odds? Brad was a Dayton, Ohio resident (gahh, we never met here); yet, I had to drive five hours annually just to say hi to Brad in person. If you don’t know Brad, he’s a trivia treasure. I cajoled him to write here because I knew it would be a tribute to a walk down memory lane in the days of radio. Heck, he just posted something on Facebook about Larry Lujak on WLS in Chicago when I was there, and I went crazy! Hey, Brad…why don’t you resurrect Social Slam?
  •  Sharon Gilmour-Glover. I have had the privilege of getting further acquainted with Sharon in the last several months of this year. There’s absolutely NO ONE on this Earth more committed to our planet, to curing the heart of a company, and for nurturing businesses one person by one person. She’s brilliant, and in tandem with her husband and business partner, Tim Glover, the two are formidable. She is co-owner of Jump-Point and is the voice and trainer in the amazing online business course, Clarity For The Boss. Sharon knows that happiness drives success; read her piece and see if that’s so. Thanks, Sharon, for your contribution! Here’s to awesome 2014!

With that? Indeed…here’s to an awescious  and #RockHot 2014!

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  • The Happy Friday Series: She Loves to Heal
  • The Happy Friday Series: How Is Happiness?
  • The Happy Friday Series: Suddenly Delightful Jamie
  • The Happy Friday Series: Alaska Chick
  • The Happy Friday Series: She Writes Right
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Filed Under: Happy Friday Series Tagged With: Brad Lovett, Brian Meeks, Geoff Reiner, Happy Friday Series, Henry Wood Detective Agency, Nancy Cawley Jean, Sharon Gilmour-Glover, Social Media

The Happy Friday Series: Five Seconds And Happy

04/26/2013 By Jayme Soulati

book-cover-Henry-Wood-Detective-Agency.jpg

Credit: Brian Meeks, Author

Generally, the last five seconds of the 29th minute of the 10th hour every day are, at best, much like all the rest. Not for me, though. I can tell you what I was doing during those five seconds every Tuesday through Sunday for the last year.

I work in a wholly unremarkable cafe in mid-town.

The list of things I know about her could fit on the side of a coffee cup. She has green eyes. Her hair, black, has gone from short to shoulder length and back. She doesn’t have a favorite coffee, as far as I can tell. Some of the regulars mix it up from time to time, but her order is always a wild card.

The first week I thought she might be a lawyer because of the suits, but then there were shorts, dresses, and once, a gorilla outfit. I asked her, “Are you an actress?”

She said, “No, I’m a gorilla.”

She once wore a black burka and followed it up the next day with a pink one.

She sits in the same booth, if it is available, sets her coffee to the side and looks at her watch. When it is time she closes her eyes, inhales slowly and then exhales. She opens her eyes and that is that. She sometimes reads the paper, does a Sudoku, types away on her laptop, or just stares out the window.

In March and April the sun light floods the booth and her olive skin speaks of angels. It doesn’t matter if I have a customer, I spend those five, precious, favorite seconds, watching her singular breath. The world goes quiet and for 4.9 seconds I can’t look away.

Today, a year of curiosity, distant admiration, and modest stalking came to an end. After the inhale, for no reason, her head turned slightly and she opened her eyes. She caught me. We spent the next 2.5 seconds just looking at one another. It could have been magical, had the next 30 seconds not been a decent into chaos.
***********

What happens next? Meh, we may never know.

What we have here is an example of what makes me happy. It isn’t the story on the whole (or part, as the case may be), but a singular moment within. A moment that the reader never sees. It is between the author and the narrator.

It is a point where the narrator slips something in the writer didn’t see coming, much to both their delights.

That moment…that sneaky little unprepared bit of writing that leaps forward and fills one with the excitement of a first kiss? It is pure joy.

When I read a book I judge it by the number of times I am forced to set it down and marvel at a singular finely crafted passage. Elmore Leonard consistently provides five or more such moments. A good writer will offer up three delicious morsels and I will be fed.

Are you curious? Would you like to know, specifically, where in those 345 words I experience writing euphoria?

Okay, I’ll tell you.

I had thought about this little scene two days ago, while driving from Iowa City to Martelle. All of it, except one part. When I typed, “Are you an actress?” she had, in every instance that I’d imagined it, said, “No.” That was all.

The “I’m a gorilla,” just sort of showed up. It made me chuckle. Did you laugh? I hope so.

But it wasn’t just a laugh line that was the source, it was all that one infers about the type of person who would come up with such an answer. It speaks to her intelligence, as one couldn’t imagine a dullard being so quick. It shows a confidence in what wasn’t said afterwards.

Most people would feel compelled to explain, to answer the unsaid questions, “Why are you wearing a gorilla costume?” but not her. She is quite content to leave it at literal. It is playful and mysterious and, if I may be so bold, sexy as hell.

Is there more to the story? Yes, sure there is. I don’t know what it might be and it may never come to the page, but it’s out there.

****************

Did you enjoy my writing? If so, I’d love to have you as a reader. You can find me at Extremely Average!  I write novels as serials.

That is what makes me happy.

Oh, and one more thing. People who subscribe to my blog. They make me doubly happy.

About The Author

brian-meeks.jpgBrian Meeks writes a blog at Extremely Average, and his Henry Wood Detective Agency books are published and for sale in paperback and also ebook. He’s been hawking his second book on a blog tour and doing a mighty fine job of it: Check out his Amazon second book.

Official Brian Meeks bio: He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics. He has also written a book about the 1986-87 Iowa Hawkeyes Men’s basketball team titled, Two Decades and Counting: the Streak, the Wins, the Hawkeyes Thru the Eyes of Roy Marble.

 

Related articles
  • Yes, you Brian Meeks, time to give it up
  • The Happy Friday Series: A Chat With Pooh
  • The Happy Friday Series: Let Go Of Sad
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Filed Under: Happy Friday Series Tagged With: Author, Brian Meeks, detective, Happy Friday, Henry Wood, Iowa City

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