When those words first flickered across my screen last week, I did not realize that that rustling sound has implications for the work I am doing here as well...So readers, take note: That rustling sound you hear is the sound of a curtain drawing closed, and the apparition you see behind the curtain is the vanishing figure of Thomas Townsend Brown....
I'm not going into hiding -- or "going black" like Townsend Brown did in 1942 -- but I do have a fairly formidable job in front of me that is going to take the rest of this month and possibly all the time I have available next month as well. And focusing on that job will likely preclude the production of any new chapters for a few weeks at least.
Of course, what I'm talking about is getting the material together for my presentation in Las Vegas on November 11. I know that seems like a long way off, but given my calendar between now and then -- and how long some of these things can take -- it really isn't. I mean, I just spent three days figuring out how to get one minute of footage off a DVD into a Powerpoint presentation...
It has been clear to me for some time now that in order to make a credible presentation in Las Vegas I really am now going to have to come rather quickly to terms with "The Rest Of The Story." Now that time has come.
Yes, I have so far actually written roughly 1/2 of the story. But I am anticipating that the presentation in Vegas will be an encapsulation of the entire story -- all 80 years of Townsend Brown's existence. That means I have to find a way to distill and compile all the material that I have not yet really dealt with in any detail.
It's taken me the better part of a year to write the chapters that constitute the first half of Brown's life; now I have about four weeks to make some semblance of sense out of the rest of his life. And as we've sort of danced around in the forums, second half of the saga is where it gets the most interesting -- and the most elusive.
I know what you're all probably thinking. "God, he takes a lot of time off..." And over the past six weeks or so, maybe it does seem that way. August was a loss for... well, for a variety of reasons. September got off to a good start with Chapter 43, but I'll be "away from keyboard" again for the first two weeks in October. My wife, bless her work-a-day heart, has compiled a ridiculous amount of vacation time and, well, shucks, I just have no choice but to go along with her on these international junkets.
The good news for me is that getting my act together for Las Vegas gives me just the opportunity I need right now spend some time with material I have not gotten to yet, to review a lot of my notes and devise a viable approach to the rest of the story. The better knews for everybody is that once I'm done presenting the overview in Las Vegas, I should be able proceed apace with the rest of the writing.
So, please, bear with me here. I do appreciate your patience, and for those of you who will find your way to Las Vegas in November, I'm doing all I can now to make the trip worthwhile,
--PS
For Andy's sake too, I am also "anxious". And here's the link to the conference: