Childhood's End

One of my favorite books is Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End. For me and for many childhood was a time of safety and isolation from the evil of the world. I was lucky enough to have two loving, nurturing parents who protected me from the evil in the outside world until they had given me the strong moral foundation and hopefully the wisdom of their own experiences to allow me to survive in the jungle we know as real life

 

I have been tied up writing wise the last couple of days on other blogs. My emotional and intellectual energy has been spent on defending my baby brother. As I mentioned in my first post my brother Jerry, or Diecast Dude as he is better known, got me into blogging.  I’m sure there are some people who will immediately flee over to his blogs and ask “did you have to?”

 

When Jerry was born I was at the age where I was a little mother to my three younger brothers. I still have a picture of the three of them in the Nehru shirts I had made them. While this child of the sixties and her conservative baby brother may not see eye to eye on politics there is something we will always agree on and that is our love for God and each other.

 

Jerry is a first class writer. He has a wonderful way with words. He has an off the wall sense of humor and more then once I’ve looked for something to throw at him after one of his wise cracks. I don’t always agree with his political writings but he doesn’t agree with mine either. We respect each other enough to agree to disagree. His writings that move me the most are when he let’s down the public showman and gives a glimpse of his heart. When her writes about our Dad being a soldier or visiting the grave of Kenny Irwin Jr. it brings tears to me eyes. The  beauty of his soul shines through. That is the real Jerry. Beneath the wise cracks lies a beautiful soul.

 

In the last couple of days a fourth rate romance novelist named Pamela Britton has invaded my brother’s blog dedicated to the book he is writing about the Christian music world. A world he as a musician, promoter, and writer knows so well. She took a wise crack from a NASCAR blog that everyone knew was humor and has tried to turn it into a personal attack. She and her coven of harpies have left obscene vitriol on his Christian blog. She follows him on to his other blogs with her unbridled hatred.

 

In my life I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing some of the top writers in the world especially in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Some who have crossed my life are Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, Alan Dean Foster, Robert Heinlein, Harlan Ellison, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Robert Silverberg, Carolyn Hart and many others who have been blessed with an abundance of talent. Some like Harlan have egos but he at least has the talent to back it up. Some like Ray and Theodore had the most beautiful gentle souls that made them a joy to be around. Marion had an intriguing mysticism and a sly sense of humor. She cared about her fellow writers and helped the new ones every chance she got. She is missed by those of us who knew her and loved her.

 

People with real talent don’t have to descend into the morass of vindictive personal attacks to try and get ahead. Ms. Britton will never have the talent to rise even in her own field of Romance novels. While Romance novels are not to my taste I am more then aware that many people do enjoy them. They are an important part of the literary scene. I have nothing against them but you will excuse me if I go back to reading Dean Koontz’s Forever Odd.

 

Ms. Britton would be well off to read Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray. From the pictures I have seen of her the over abundance of makeup she wears is a cover that she uses to mask her real self. The mask is crumbling and by her vicious attacks she is revealing the portrait underneath and it is a very ugly picture.

 

The picture is called Childhood’s End.