A step outside the box

         

 Some of our kids and grandkids were here last night. We cooked out and sat around in the stifling heat swatting at bugs and waiting for the sun to go down. My daughter-in-law talked me into going for a walk—a mile in the aforementioned heat nearly killed me. My son set up their telescope in the side yard and we all looked at the moon, Venus, and Saturn.

          Wow.

          I’m not much of a fan of the space program. I think we should concentrate on taking better care of the planet we’re on before we go careening off and messing up any others. I remember the first walk in space only because my girlfriend had her first baby that day. Though I’m usually an optimist, I tend to remember our losses to the program as opposed to our gains.

          But last night I understood why people want to go to those places. It was amazing to see the craters on the moon, the blinky colors that were Venus, and, the rings around Saturn. “It really has them!” I said, which the grandkids thought was funny.

          We talk much these days about stepping outside the box and outside our comfort zones, but I never gave much thought to how important it is to do that.

          As a person. My politics and my religion are mine alone, I hope my ethics and morals are evident in the life that I live but you don’t need me beating you over the head with what I think. But sometimes it’s necessary to stand up and speak up and hey, too bad if you don’t like it.

          As a reader. I don’t like horror, I don’t read anything remotely paranormal (unless Shawn writes it), and I think erotic romance is boring. But if I’d never read any horror, I wouldn’t know just how good Stephen King is. If I’d never read any paranormal, I wouldn’t have read the Harry Potter series. If I hadn’t read any erotic romance, I wouldn’t know how amazing some of the voices are that write it.

          As a writer. I’ll probably never have a real brand because I skip around so much—my books are contemporary, historical, and inspirational, and the next one is women’s fiction. My career might be in better shape if I’d found a niche and stayed with it, but what fun it is to not only step outside the box but dance on top of it.

          It’s my way, I guess, of stepping on the moon, checking out the colors of Venus, and seeing that yes, yes, there really are rings around Saturn.

          What about you? When do you step outside the box and dance on its top?