There’s too much time between now and the trip to India to obsess over details or to get anything further accomplished. All that’s left for the moment is to glance at the itinerary from time to time and smack my lips.
But the calm waters above give no hint of the turbulence deep within the murky lake of my brain. I’m making giant waves of progress with the manuscript of my Togo memoir. Years ago I opened a blog and put up a few posts based on journal entries. The blog title is A Handful of Memories, also the working title of the memoir.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo a dozen years ago, and the blog was where I dropped an occasional memory from time to time when the muse whacked me over the head. The time has finally come when I could look at my handwritten journals and mold them into something substantial. Planning the India trip has been the catalyst.
It’s like eating your vegetables before being allowed dessert or finishing your homework before watching TV. India will be such a kaleidoscope that I wanted to have a clean slate so I could work on the India travel notes after I return without anything else competing for my attention. This was such irrefutable logic that I took off my cloak of procrastination — which is something like a cloak of invisibility — and got to work on the Togo manuscript.
The more I worked on it, the more memories surfaced which hadn’t been originally recorded. A Handful of Memories no longer works as a title and Three Gunny Sackfuls of Memories isn’t tremendously appealing, but I’m too paranoid to reveal the new one until closer to publication. Publication is expected before I leave for India. If all goes well, I’ll have it available as an e-book in January 2011.
Marie,
I enjoyed reading your various posts- I wish you the best of luck with your book! I happened upon your posts after spending the past 30 minutes or so watching YouTube videos from Togo. So much has changed since then. When I look back I question the wisdom of entering the Peace Corps as a 22 year old. I knew so little- about myself especially and it is hard to open your heart to others when you are so disconnected from who you are. I have grown up a lot since then and I like to think that if I went back to Togo now, I’d make friends and possibly a difference. I didn’t see an e-mail address for you so I’m writing this as a comment.
Gen,
I always thought it was admirable to be a Volunteer at that young age. I remember wanting to do it but, at the age of 22, I had no foreign language skills and frankly was too scared to go. Togo wasn’t the easiest place to be, either. I’m sure it would be a much different experience for you now, as it would be for any of us a dozen years later.
Thanks so much for writing.