Every day you see one more card.
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart.
The waiting is the hardest part.

Tom Petty, lyrics: The Waiting…
__________________________

Things have settled down a great deal since my last post. At least inside my head. The waves of euphoria have calmed. Replaced with, well, a lot of things. A quiet sense of what has to be done. Some trepidation. A little fear. But mostly, a deep, deep realiz- ation of the opportunity that has dropped into my lap. People struggle all their lives and never reach that goal, never even get the chance I’m getting.

I’m thankful. And still a little awed about how it all came down.

I’ve not written much yet. For the book, I mean. Played around a bit with the prologue. And the first chapter. But mostly, just mulling over memories. Rereading a lot of my old stuff. Trying to decide what I might or might not incorporate later.

I’ve not written much because the folks at Tyndale want to meet with me first. That was to happen sometime in March, tentatively. But things move a bit slower at the corporate level, it seems. So now it will be early April.

I chafed and fretted, early on. Wanted to get on with it. There’s a huge amount of work to be done before fall.

But now I’m calmer. Settled down. The Tyndale people know what they’re doing. They have a game plan. I’m new at this. Plus, there’s plenty of time to freak out later. As I’m sure I will.

Originally, the editor was planning to fly in and spend a day with me in our conference room at work. That’s changed too. Now, instead of one or two Tyndale people, there are at least four that must meet me. So they decided it makes more sense to fly one guy to Chicago than it does to fly four people to Lancaster. Makes sense to me too. I abhor flying, mostly because of the TSA thugs. But for this, I’m game. Heck, I’ll drive out if necessary.

They want to spend a full day, plotting the story. Picture-boarding, they call it. Go from point to point, all the way through. Which should greatly simplify things. I’m not quite sure about it. Never done anything like that before. But they seem very confident. So we’ll see.

The tickets have been purchased. I fly out to Tyndale’s corporate headquarters early on Thursday, April 8. Return the next day. Country boy meets big city. I’m sure it will be an adventure. An intense one.

But from the new writing I’ve already done in preparation, one thing became clear. When the time comes to buckle down and produce, I will have to sit at my computer on my old desk in my messy living room in my cluttered house. And block out all the noise. Clear my head. Forget even that I’m “writing a book.” I’ll have to write to all you readers on my blog. As I have for going on three years. Talk to you, as I’ve always done. Otherwise, my voice won’t come out right. And the narrative will be stilted and false.

So for now, I’m in limbo. Thinking. Plotting. Sketching a bit. Waiting. Preparing. It’s going to be a long wild summer.

Way back in April, 2008, I posted a blog about old songs. Amish singing in church. Shortly thereafter, Erik Wesner of Amish America linked that post to his blog, triggering an immediate and noticeable uptick in hits. Amish America is certainly among the most widely read websites out there about Amish life.

Since then, Erik has graciously linked to about four or five of my other posts. “Running Around” was probably my most widely read post, primarily because Erik linked to it not once, but twice. Because of him, I have a lot more readers than I otherwise would have.

This past Monday, Erik’s new book, “Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive,” was released in stores. Of course, it’s available at Amazon and other web sellers as well.

My copy arrived yesterday, a nice hardcover book. So last night I picked it up, figuring to peruse it briefly so I could mention it on this post. Next time I looked at the clock, two hours had passed. I’m not a businessman, never had any drive or desire to be one. But the book is so engagingly written, so well researched, so filled with anecdotes and examples of real life Amish businesses, that I found it hard to put down.

Erik is not only a scholar, but a fine writer as well. Which is quite refreshing. Many “scholarly” works are dry as toast. This one is not.

I definitely recommend it. Pick up your own copy and check it out.

Finally, while I have shied away from discussing politics lately (no sense in deliberately antagonizing any of my readers), I simply can’t keep silent on this one. Can’t ignore the vile developments that emerged from the slime pit of Washington, DC, last Sunday night. We’ve been inexorably traveling to this destination for many decades. And now we have arrived. Socialism is here and it’s here to stay, at least for the next few generations. Until and when it all collapses into dust and ruins. And fire and blood and death.

As it will collapse. Truth crushed to earth will rise again. Always. In time. But probably not in our lifetimes.

We get what we deserve. As a libertarian, I hold the Republicans and Democrats about equally responsible for where we are. Long term. Neither party really wants change from the status quo, even though the Republicans are trying to catch the head winds of the strident resistance that is rising like a flood. But it won’t be enough. It’s like a professional wrestling match; the outcome has already been decreed. All else is a show for the passions of the masses.

We are ruled by thugs who will stop at nothing to force their grand utopian visions upon us. It’s all vile. All politics that glorifies and increases the power of the state. Whether it’s the Patriot Act, or this latest abomination of health reform. It’s all from the same source. And it’s all equally evil.

Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot to say about the “health care” that will soon afflict us all. Except to advise all of you to stay healthy. Seek alternative treatments. Know where to find them and stock up on as many remedies as you can afford. Because the natural holistic methods will be regulated and criminalized soon enough. Count on it.

There is now a bill before the Senate that would place all natural supplements and vitamins under the loving oversight of the FDA. The bill’s sponsor: John McCain. They will never stop devouring our freedoms, the thugs that rule over us.

I close with a quote that has always been true, and will always be true. (I’m not a Nietzsche fan, but on this point he nailed it.) Until such a time as we absorb this truth and move to hunt down and drive a stake through the heart of the savage, ravenous murderous beast, we are doomed to wander this desolate wilderness in which we find ourselves. We and our children and their children.

“State is the name of the coldest of all cold monsters. Coldly it lies; and this lie slips from its mouth: ‘I, the state, am the people.’

Everything in it is false; it bites with stolen teeth, and bites often.”

—Friedrich Nietzsche