from Tuesday, 17 November 1987

I'm back in Nashville and looking forward to the holidays when I can get out of here again. Things here are okay but a lot of little turns out to be a bigger bother sometimes. One problem is with work. It's now slightly strained between Cathi and me after I told her a few weeks ago that I would prefer she think of herself as my publisher and not as my manager. That didn't go over near as well as I expected and I wasn't even expecting it to go over well. She was hurt, thinking, I suppose, that strong belief and money spent make a manager. They may make one but not necessarily a good one. I had hoped not to put all my eggs in one basket again and it looks like, for better or worse, I've done just that. I feel good about it except I always have that nagging feeling that the money is about to stop. I imagine at my contract's end Cathi will have my catalog and will probably try to sell it while I walk away and try to do whatever is next. I can't say that I'll be sorry. She has been a good friend but she has never been that real to me. . . .

My car broke down finally an it took $225.96 to replace the distributor. I was back in Percy-Warner Park when it happened and had to walk out to Belle Meade to call a tow truck for the car and Kevin to come over and get me. I put the bill on my folks' Mastercard and will pay them off for it over the next couple of months.

Hopefully I can write a little when I'm home. I haven't written one thing since I moved into this little place in August. And you know how I get when I'm not writing.

I also just want to be home in North Carolina again. I've been on two trips lately but I haven't seen NC since the latter part of August. I can hardly wait. . . .

Mom and Dad and Pansy and Edison came down here to Nashville at the end of October. They were here for three days and had a good time I think. We didn't really do that much together except go out and eat. They visited tourist shops and the Grand Ol' Opry on their own. One night we had dinner with Mark, Becky, and JB at the West End Cooker and that was good. . . .

In other news, one week from tomorrow I will be 29, my last stop before 30's. I'll try to think about it and fill you in on my feelings but I can say right now I don't feel very complete. . . .

One week from tomorrow, in 2010, I'll be 52, and I feel mostly complete.