Thomas R. Ruffin

MUDHOLE ON THE ROAD

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Well, as one chapter closes .. another begins. The writing, publishing and pre-release publicity phases of The Mudhole Collection is now complete and forward we go bravely into that great uncertainty known as the post-release phase. In this series, I've decided to call, Mudhole on the Road, I intend to document my travels, near and abroad (and in most cases "abroad" means any distance beyond the Pearl River), in an effort to promote the book. Quite a few of the names have not been altered and they are of real people who don't mind being associated with me or any of the actions depicted in the following accounts. Other names, however, have been changed to preserve their confidentiality .. and it will be apparent why they would appreciate remaining nameless ... and some names never were known to me or were completely forgotten. In some instances I sensed an urging to change names, or apply nicknames, of my own choosing, so I did just that.

Before we were ever asked, booked, invited or invited ourselves to a venue we made the decision to begin our appearances in support of The Mudhole Collection in Clinton, MS. This decision was a no brainer. I want to thank Joshua Welch and his staff at The Irish Frog in Clinton. They bent over backwards to make us as comfortable as possible. The food is excellent there and the service is outstanding.

On Saturday we were at Pentimento Books in Old Town Clinton. Toni Wall is an angel ... (not sure if she hails from Montgomery or just where) but she is one of the nicest ladies I've ever met.

I'd like to thank all of you from the Jackson/Clinton metro area who came out and supported us in celebration of the release of our book. It was wonderful to be able to talk to some great friends and to meet some new friends.

and here is the first installment of Mudhole on the Road.

MUDHOLE ON THE ROAD

Homewood, Alabama

Sunday, October 30

We arrived in Moody, Alabama on Saturday night and were welcomed into the home of Lane Tucker, a long time and good friend of mine. Lane had a spread of sandwich makings and meats that, as he put it, were really marked down in price because it was the last day before they were required by law to be removed from the shelves of Walmart. His disappointment was obvious when no one in my group even looked up from their sandwich .. hunger and expiration dates have a polarizing effect on one another -- the more hungry one becomes the longer the time after the expiration date one will allow.

After an entirety of 3 hours sleep for me I got up and went outside to a beautiful view of the rolling hills that fills the skyline for a beautiful view from the front of Lane's home.

Lunch was at Michaels Restaurant near the campus of The University of Alabama-Birmingham. We were waited on by Amy who, according to Josh, was worthy of receiving a free copy of TMC. Come to think of it ... Josh thought that quite a few free copies should be given out in a sort of meet, greet and flee method ... I'm sure it's merely coincidental that all of the free copies that he gave away were to attractive women.

The signing at Little Professor was, to put it kindly, less than well attended. That is certainly not a knock on the good people we met there. They did treat us well and explained that Sundays, in their place, was a slow time. Traditionally, unknown out of town/state writers do not fare well on the signing circuit (especially writers of the poetic breed having not yet cut their ears off and run shrieking through town square all so they might garner some attention). I learned this when in 2005 (signing On the Weeping Floor) in Louisville, KY, I sold only one book and that was to a woman who, quite out of left field, asked if I enjoyed watersports ... to which I replied that I did but that it had been years since I'd been skiing. The look on her face was memorable insofar as it was a look of sympathy as if she was saying "you poor, dumb, country coon dog from Missisippi". She leaned forward and whispered something to me and as my eyes grew wide I said something like "...ooooohhhhhhh".

I thank Little Professor for having us and if you are ever in the area please stop in and look around.

MUDHOLE ON THE ROAD

Birmingham, Alabama

Sunday, October 30

My spirits improved substantially that evening when Josh (chief navigator, researcher and operator of the device he called a SmartPhone) located an establishment called Lucky's. By way of looking into the screen of the SmartPhone device Josh could tell that Lucky's purportedly held a poetry open-mic session on Sunday nights. The GPS in the SmartPhone device directed us to the area of Lucky's ... after passing the establishment a few times I finally spotted the green 4 leaf clover on the sign of the club. I said, "there it is .. in that strip mall ... ok, ok, see the taco place? ok, ok, now see the laundromat? .. right there between 'em". Aaahhh yes, we had arrived at, what surely, was a mecca for literary arts in Birmingham, AL.

This is the point in this journal that I eluded to earlier .. where some names were changed, altered or fabricated. I think I'll list the significant events of the evening as opposed to writing it out in narrative form. So here goes (and in no particular order other than the order that they come to mind)

a) the Birmingham police officer was a nice man

b) Josh was able perform some outstanding free style hip hop during the open-mic session. He received a fairly decent round of applause although later I would point out to a slightly disappointed Josh that the audience was probably tired from the wild and enthusiastic hootin' and hollerin', bic-lighter-raisin', and yeeeeee haaaaawin that they did for the fella that performed "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Freebird" right before Josh took the stage.

c) Vicki enjoyed the evening so much so that she promised everyone that we would return at our next earliest convenience and as a gesture of good will she would gift them with some of her home made soap. ".. well, by God", said Darla, "...I'll whoop up some killer tater salad and you all can come stay at me n Ricky's place".

d) conversations similar to the one in section c. were commonplace.

e) there was no tylenol within a 25 mile radius of the club.

e) the girl that me, Darla and Sissy tried to take home ( cause apparently the legal team at Lucky's had declared that nudity would not be allowed) did not achieve her goal of jumping from my mini-van at 40 mph.

f) the Birmingham police officer was a nice man.

We made it back to Clinton on Monday afternoon.. safe and sound though slightly exhausted.

That's all for now. Look for another edition of Mudhole on the Road

soon.

The Latest

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Ok, here is the latest info on the launch event. It is confirmed now that we will be at The Irish Frog in Clinton on Friday, October 14, from 9 - 11 pm. The Irish Frog is the perfect location for our gathering. The food is excellent and the staff is top notch. They have a full service bar and there will be live music that evening. Joshua Welch, the owner of The Irish Frog, has been very gracious in allowing us to be there. When you see him there that night thank him and be sure to take advantage of the drink specials he will be offering to our group. If you are coming in from out of town there are several hotels within a short distance from The Irish Frog. Josh and I will arrive at 9 pm and you may purchase a copy of The Mudhole Collection and we'll be happy to sign it for you. We'll stay until about 11 pm, maybe later. There has been some discussion about an "after party", not sure where yet but you can be certain it will be memorable.

If you can't make it on Friday night, we will be at Pentimento Books, in downtown Clinton, on Saturday afternoon from 1 - 3 pm. So join us there. Thank you Toni Wall for having us. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Gearing Up

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 06:25:00 +0000

Yes, we are gearing up for the release of The Mudhole Collection. October 14th will be a big day (and night). Having some issues with locations of the launch events. Ownership of The Horseshoe has changed hands .. so the appearance there has been cancelled. As of right now we are still on at The Bulldog but we moved the time to 9pm. If anything changes I'll be sure and get that info out ASAP. Heard from the Jackson Free Press ... they are interested in doing a piece on TMC. I hope that works out. Josh flies to NYC in the am for a week. His artwork is outstanding and I'm fortunate to have him onboard for this project. I think those of you that enjoy my work will really appreciate his talent. That's all for now. I hope that you can join us on the night of 10/14 ..if not then catch us at Pentimento Books on the brickstreets of Clinton on 10/15 at 1pm ... we'll leave for New Orleans that afternoon to appear at the Maple Leaf at 3pm, 10/16. So .. come on ... roll with us.

Mudhole to Publisher

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:45:00 +0000

The Mudhole Collection cover has been decided upon and I must say I'm quite pleased with it. My friend, John Hicks, took the cover photo and I was torn between two photos of his that were equally beautiful. John is a talented photographer. Josh Rushing is busy doing whatever illustrators do ... illustrate I suppose. The entire manuscript is to be submitted to the publisher by September 5, and hopefully there wont be too many corrections to be made when the proof comes back.

Then, of course, we will make a few appearances beginning with two launch party locations in Jackson on October 14 .. followed by a few dates on the road the next week. All in all it has been a good experience. This is my third book and it doesn't seem to get any easier ... this one was especially difficult with regard to content .. there are some very emotion infused pieces in this collection.

Also, my mother passed away unexpectedly in July and our family is still trying to figure out how to cope and go forward without her. She was everything to me and I regret that I didn't spend more time with her ... all she ever wanted of me was to be happy ... and in some respects I think she thought that I was not happy .. if I were ever sad it certainly was not of her doing. I desire but another conversation with her ... just one more.

So, this book is dedicated to my mother who I'm certain, by now, has sought out and located her own mother in that place we call Heaven ... and the two of them have surely taken a drive .. in no particular direction with no certain destination ... that's just how they were.

Hope to see as many people as we can on October 14 ... it should be a blast if the last two launch parties are any indication.

Along Comes the Proverbial Light at the End of the Tunnel

Wed, 18 May 2011 06:01:00 +0000

Yes, I can see it ... the light at the end of the tunnel. A few more weeks and I should have the content of the new book (The Mudhole Collection) ready. Then it's proofed and reproofed ... then it's off to press. A tentative but highly likely release date is October 14, 2011. A few appearances are scheduled an I hope to see everyone there. I'll be there with my illustrator, neighbor and good friend - Josh Rushing.

This, my third book, will more than likely be my last poetry effort for a while .. or at least until Aliceville is completed. Then we'll see what the future holds.

Thanks bunches to everyone who has urged me on and encouraged me. If not for your words of support I seriously doubt I would continue to write.

Summer is upon us and I plan to spend alot of time by the pool and at the lake .. certainly I will be writing all along.

Aliceville Revisited

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 12:33:00 +0000

Work on a project I began about two years ago has begun anew. I am currently taking a look at placing Aliceville back at the forefront insofar as an effort at a novel is concerned. Though Mudhole is still underway it has evolved from the novel mold to a collection of writings .. poetry and some short stories. A few of the characters I had in mind for Mudhole will flourish rather nicely in Aliceville ... as will a few of the themes. In essence, as writers are prone to do, I have changed my mind ... again. It probably won't be the last.

On other fronts -- It is deer season and Wayne is in heaven. He is happy to report that he has stopped drinking. I'm not so certain that this pleases me for now I have no drinkin' buddy in Wahalak, MS ... unless G.Y. shows up .. then it's on .. but on most occasions there would be no one other than Wayne there to engage in worldy conversations with. Who with, pray tell, will I now discuss important matters? Nevertheless, I am happy for Wayne. He has also lost weight and say that he's feeling better than ever.

The children are doing well and one more semester at the college is behind us.

So, now ....... back to work

Mudhole Progress

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:13:00 +0000

The progress on Mudhole (the novel) is moving along steadily but slowly, however, The Mudhole Collection (poetry) is rapidly coming together. I'm proud to announce that The Mudhole Collection will feature the illustrations of Joshua E. Rushing, a talented artist indeed. Josh will also do the book cover. Still hoping to release in November 2010.

Introduction (Sideways Train)

Fri, 07 May 2010 03:49:00 +0000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, INTRODUCTION, DEDICATION AND RAMBLINGS

It certainly does not go without saying … a mighty big thank you to every one involved in the process of making this book possible. And it is indeed a process. There are a few people I’d like to recognize. Foremost, my familial unit … to include parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, aunts and uncles and the like. They have not and will not fail me; I know this to be true.

I hold a special place in my heart for educators. As fine a group of people as any other to ever walk the face of the planet. We all owe a great deal of gratitude to our teachers, especially the ones who guided us through our formative years. I regret that I am not able to recall them all by name. I do remember a few who positively influenced me as I became a young man.

Mr. Canzoneri, who challenged me to challenge and by persistent method caused me to think. He wore sandals and tiny, circular lensed spectacles. He sported close-cropped salt and pepper hair. I didn’t know what to think of him then… now I do.

Anne Calvert (the Sarge), who taught me that establishment has its place and some folks work well within it … just not I.

Ms. Farrar, who seemingly will never get old. To this day her beauty has not abandoned her. I’m certain she taught me valuable lessons in reading, writing, arithmetic and such but all I can recall is her demonstration to my 2nd grade class of the proper brushing of our teeth. It’s a damn wonder I didn’t become a dentist.

Ms. O’bryan, who was just plain cool and when I saw her later she always said she remembered me. Whether she did or not she was quite encouraging of my paper on James Joyce.

Ms. Mittie Kay Smith … I cannot begin to speak of the values and ethical foundations that she instilled in me. Although I’ve managed to violate just about every moral code ever imparted to me … I can still hear her in my minds ear in the role of the proverbial good angel on my shoulder.

Ms. Jeff, who always had a warm smile for me (though it may have been born of sympathy … nevertheless, I liked it). She taught math and although she might as well have been speaking Mandarin Chinese … I liked being in her class.

Countless others who, day in and day out, endeavored to teach life lessons … in my opinion, the highest calling. Because of them I am me. Not particularly intelligent but that’s no reflection on them. I’m as smart as I want to be.

To my brothers and sisters in law enforcement. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand or more times … there is no group of people quite like cops. Everyone, in some way, is intrigued by the cop persona. If not, why then are there so many television shows, movies and books about them? The answer is quite simple … cops are seen as heroes (in most cases). They rescue the damsels in distress, they put bad guys in jail, they make the world a safer place to play and they make for interesting characters. The general population expects cops to be beyond reproach and stalwart in disposition, yet, to the surprise of many, they are merely human. These expectations and realities often clash and the results can be quite tragic. All the more reason to depict cops by way of art … they then become truly iconic.

The mind of a veteran cop is the most haunting of places … an inescapable pit of memories of human horrors, souls sold, lives lost and failures aplenty. Because there is never an attainable and agreeable level of public satisfaction with the efforts of law enforcement it should not be so surprising that soon follows the minds of cops … unreachable self-fulfillment. I thank my brethren and I love them dearly.

Vicki Waters, I thank her and, as unqualified as I am to do so, I bless her. Upon reflection, if it were not for her I seriously doubt that any of my words would have ever seen the light of day. So at least I have her to blame.

An extra special thank you to my children. They deserve the very best of the future for they have not had the best of fathers. I have failed them in countless ways. I endeavor to make amends. They are such beautiful children.

To my current wife … and I say current because I fully expect her to leave me at any moment. She very well should. She deserves to be free of me. She has endured more than anyone should have to at my cause. It cannot be of any consolation to her that I love her.

A writer, of the journalistic species, once asked me why I wrote so much of pain and suffering, darkness and all things depressing. My response, and what was subsequently printed, was a denial of such an assertion. After that interview I became bothered by a nagging sensation of sorts that, sometime later, I realized was caused by that particular question … or my denial rather.

So I set out to prove the position that not only was I not primarily a “downside” artist but that my work was overwhelmingly upbeat.

Well … upon intense self-evaluation and an analysis of my work … I did soon arrive at the conclusion that I would fail miserably in any attempt to portray my stuff as “happy” more so than not. So I sought to rationalize the seemingly predominant themes of despair that appear in my writing. On second thought, though, it was not so much a process of rationalization as it was an examination of truths … the truths of life.

As such as it is these truths are not always pretty … they are not always happy, gleeful, cheerful or the least bit positive. In fact these truths are often downright horrific. I’m sure it has been said before … something in the way of, “we are born, we live, then we die”. For most people two of those three events are happy ones. For others the entire process is perpetual misery. I don’t claim to represent the downtrodden, the underprivileged or the underclass, yet if my writing somehow illuminates the plight of those not truly represented, then so be it. Though I think that some readers might get the sense that my aim is to speak for the masses of the maladjusted, it is not my intention to do so. Quite contrarily, or at least in a neutral sense, I have no agenda … I have neither direction nor destination.

As preposterous as that might sound to some it makes perfect sense to me. I write from the heart or I do not write at all. I am moved by emotion or I do not move. I am guided by the most beautiful of all sensibilities … that of the soul of human beings … or I am misled.

If by reading my words the reader(s) sense a message … it is their very own … arrived at of their own volition by their own methods. Yes, of course I know what my words mean to me and I know what events, persons and/or spiritual occurrences inspired those words. But, for my sake and the sake of the personal experience of reading and enjoying poetry, the truth shall remain within me.

There exists, on some plane, an intensity of human emotion that is wholly indescribable by humanity. Poets have for centuries attempted to capture that emotion in a web of words of many languages. To my knowledge this feat of art … this endeavor to replicate the complexity of feeling by way of mere words … has not yet been perfected. I dare say it ever will.

The thrust of poetry, though, is the effort given to that end … the conquest of physical and soulful sensation experienced by language. We could all attest that at some juncture in our lives we have endured or enjoyed pain or pleasure so dynamic that no combination or compilation of words could ever recreate the experience. This might very well be for the best. Nevertheless, we perpetually seek to recapture these experiences.

In this book I’ve decided to interject, at various points, a thought or two about a particular piece here and there. Keep in mind that these random thoughts are not presented in an effort to explain or enlighten the reader with regards to meaning. Again, it is my position that this would restrict the reader’s potential for self-interpretation. I merely intend to enhance the experience.

It is my desire that a person that reads what I have written will, upon closing the book, feel something … anything. I don’t particularly care what they feel as long as their senses have been stimulated … for better or worse. It is apathy that will be the death of me. Not my own mind you … but the apathy of others. It is my fiercest opponent … my enemy.

Once again, no apologies for what some may consider inappropriate language. I will concede that there are inappropriate times and places for it but I write real life … as gritty as it gets. And certainly no apologies for any political, religious, racial or other tender nerves I touch. They … most likely … need to be touched.

I’m merely a poor boy from Mississippi. I’ve lost my way on more than one occasion though I’ve always found my way home. Seasons come and go … only to return … yet I seem to be none-the-wiser. I yearn to journey and often my mind is my only available vehicle … and, yes, I re-live the past and invent the future … and, as if atop a sideways train, it sure does make for one hell of a ride.

- Thomas R. Ruffin

Back in the Saddle (at least for now)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:56:00 +0000

I was able to dust off my cleats and get back on the baseball field today. I didn't realize how bad I really missed umpiring. Hopefully I can do many more games.

I've been talking to my old childhood and high school buddy, Mike McDade. Mike maintains a really cool blog http://eyesoftheheart.wordpress.com/ ... his writing is refreshing ... give it a look sometime.

Unsupported Short Positions and Updates

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Well, yes, I'm still kicking. Someone said to me, "man, you don't update your blog too often". So, here we go .. a few updates and inconsequential tidbits of information and of course, more random thoughts:

-- My Police Process class is winding down .. finals are fast approaching ... my students are awesome and if I could exempt them all from the final exam I would. but I CAN'T !!! SO QUIT ASKING !! On tap for the summer is a graduate/undergrad level class; Special Issues: Interview and Interrogation, without a doubt my favorte class to teach ... and looking further down the road the fall class will be a brand new one, Crisis Intervention. I'm excited and thankful for the opportunity to be able to construct this class from the ground up. The class will focus on the dynamics of situational crisis intervention with regard to law enforcement settings (suicidal subjects, barricaded susects, hostage negotiation, the dynamics of crowd behavior and much more). Looking forward to both classes.

-- Mitchell and Peyton are once again involved in baseball and softball respectively, and thus we are at the fields at least 4 nights per week. I love watching them play and enjoy life (as it should be) but I sure do miss umpiring.

-- Played golf the other day for the first time in months and actually hit the ball pretty decently. I should play more often I proclaim.

-- Work on Mudhole is progressing, slowly though, and I really think that some type of adventure would open the floodgates so that the creative juices could flow more freely .. I dunno.

-- During the Tiger Woods media orgy this past winter I made several light hearted jokes about the subject on my Facebook page. I certainly hope I didn't offend anyone .. I truly did not intend to ... but I feel compelled to say this about the whole matter ... Tiger Woods does not owe anyone other than his spouse an apology for anything. The bottom line is that the man cheated on his wife (not taking infidelity lightly at all) and it is none of our business. But the media, once again, feels the need to embellish, promulgate and often downright fabricate news. On second thought I'll refrain from further commenting on the topic as it makes my blood boil .. makes me wanna blow up my TV .

til next time ... make love not war ... be happy ... smile ... help your neighbors ... spread peace and all that goobly gobbly hippie stuff