Google Photos popped this one at me and it keeps me going
I have been in a major funk lately. It seems that the more I learn to navigate the barriers in my life, the less I feel in tune with the artistic vision that propelled me through the first six months of widowhood. I have been struggling more than ever to work on my most cherished projects. Perhaps this points to a common malaise associated with devastating loss, I don't know. Whatever the problem is, it's stubborn and often maddening: The fact that I can hammer out messages to renters and yet draw a complete blank while writing or editing the stuff that really matters to me is not cool, so not cool.
I know I'm not unique in this kind of struggle, which is why I mention it. That, and I want to use my frustration to squeeze a blog post out of my head before the month's end. I plan to keep going with this blog. It's one of the ways that I want to try and continue my relationship with Kara and I hope that it can become one of your ways, too. My dream is to write more about some of my favorite subjects: My wife, of course, but also grief, death acceptance, caregiving, health and illness communication, and even the afterlife and whether it exists. But even if I get bogged down by funk or other crap, I will at least share some nostalgia from my growing Kara archive from time to time, as well as talk about various shite that is going on in my life. At this point I figure that I am Kara and she is me, even if I'm not wearing black lace-up boots and eco-friendly glitter (or am I...?).
But this has been a long enough post already and so I'll just say I spent a killer Thanksgiving with friends. The day was loaded with fried chicken, Swedish meatballs, and other delectable delicacies, along with more conversation about our dogs than I am sure they will ever have about us. And fuck it. I was going to save this for closer to release date... but since I keep getting delayed, and since this is a newsletter of sorts, I have decided that I may as well drop...
A cover reveal
With photo by Whitney Young, graphic design by Luke Sevcik, and cover design by Scott Cole, this image kicks so much ass that I can't wait to see it finalized and slapped on the front of Kara's forthcoming memoir. I'll have a lot more to say about her book (which I announced last March) in future posts, but for now I just wanted to tease this marvel of sparkling unicorn warrior awesomeness.
If this visual won't put a dent in one's malaise, I don't know what can.
Way Back Machine Activate
And straight from the Kara Picante Files...
Back in the spring of 2020, Kara hosted the online "Chemoerotica Friend Fiction Power Hour." Inspired by the episode "Bad Tina" on the animated sitcom Bob's Burgers, she penned several pieces of erotic flash fiction about her friends, mostly at their request, then read them aloud on Facebook Live. I play Kara's invisible sidekick, groaning and laughing in sympathy for the protagonists, which included myself with a bowl of cottage cheese that rivaled the seductive powers of Lolita, apparently.
And that's all I have for today.
Until next time.
--Charles Austin Muir
Whitney Young: https://itswhit.com/
Scott Cole: https://www.13visions.com/
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