New Journal

Does anyone actually completely fill up all the pages of their writing journals? I usually fill up half the book and then decide my work is going in another direction and I can't possibly continue using the current one. Today I purchased a plain black journal with blank pages because the lines in my current brown leather journal were driving me "nuts" which is ironic, because the green leafy journal with the inspirational message on the front that I was using before (graduation gift from my mother-in-law) had blank pages that drove me "nuts." I guess there's no pleasing me. What I like about this new journal is that it has big rings and I can fold the covers over and use it like a clip board instead of an open book. That makes it easier to write. Also, I can easily rip the pages out if in the throes of creativity I write something incriminating that can be used in a court of law. Or when I discover I've been daydreaming again and have written "Mrs. Reb Bon Jovi" 500 times.

I also picked up a color postcard with a photo of Paul Newman from 1964. It's a few years after my favorite Newman film, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), but close enough. Sometimes I buy his spaghetti sauce and I don't even care for it that much. It reminds me of this boy from 2nd grade who brought in his jar of Terry Bradshaw brand peanut butter. An item that was probably only available locally in Pittsburgh, if I had to guess. (For those of you who don't know, Terry Bradshaw was the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 70's and early 80's, when they won 4 Super Bowls.) That little boy was so proud of his peanut butter! I guess I'm the same way with my jars of Paul Newman sauce. His salsa is OK, for jarred salsa. I buy that sometimes too.