Thought Garden

Walkers (not zimmers, people!)

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:06:00 +0000

[Previously posted elsewhere]
Professor Morano shared several entries from "My Vegetable Love: A Journal of a Growing Season" by Carl H. Klaus with her graduate class in the Personal Essay. They made quite an impression on me.

I've been thinking a lot about the concept as it might apply to the aftermath of my heart attack. Of course, if I was going to start a daily journal about the experience of recovery I'm just a tad late in starting, about three months late! That said, the idea of sucking meaning from even the smallest but peculiar occurence or revelation on a day-by-day basis still appeals to me.

For instance, the neighborhood in which I live has never had sidewalks (nor curbs for that matter). So everyone walks in the street including the kids on their way to the grammar school nearby. I'm more aware of streetwalkers now that I've become one. Our street goes west for one block then curves into a tiny street only to curve again back toward the main street. Similar to a cul de sac only longer and with a short exit in the middle. I trudge around this horseshoe generally once a day in the early morning. Happy to report the trudging pace has picked up as I walk more often and for longer periods. I've even added other neighborhoods and parks just to relieve the boredom.

Once I started going out at different times and to less familar places, I noticed more and more solitary folks striding their way in a determined fashion even in the August heat. Only a couple of times have I seen two women walking together, although charging up the sidewalk would be a more accurate description. For the most part it is a single individual pacing along his or her set path.And no, they're not all walkers, some are bike riders. One lady tickles me because of the huge purse she has strapped across her as she rides. I'm not sure what she could possibly have in it that she might need on her ride. . .. I'm glad that she's riding. I root for her and inwardly applaud her effort, but she doesn't wear a helmet and that bothers me. There's also a guy who rides against traffic and I worry a bit about him but when I start riding again I will do the same.

We have much in common, these other older streetwalkers and bike riders. For instance we don't stop to sniff the flowers because it would throw us off our pace. We do, however, speak to everyone we pass even if they're just putting out the garbage in the dim light before dawn. I have a theory about why we greet each other particularly (we're so easy to spot!) as well as anyone else who's in the vicinity, but I'll have to hold that thought for next time.

New Target Heart Rate

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:26:00 +0000

It's official. I have a new target heart rate as of this morning. The range is 136-152. 136 being 75% of my capacity and 152 being 80%. So if my calculations are correct, my max is 190. Is that right?

Did It Again

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Okay, so I'm walking my fanny off on the treadmill this morning - bit more incline, faster speed. (Rehab is nothing if not challenging!) I called for my heart rate. (There is always one person stationed at the desk watching all our info on the monitors.) Back comes the number 148.

I'm hard of hearing but I was pretty sure that's what she said. But since it was only 10 points below my max rate, I checked that I had gotten it right. Sure enough.

Here's the scary part: the tech/nurse/physiologist (don't know what she is, sorry) said to me, "Is that high?"

Well, please, you're the authority, aren't you? Isn't it your job to keep me out of trouble? She quickly followed up with, "You're not having chest pain, etc., etc."

I was okay then and I'm okay now, but I wish I knew what going on. It appears that my max rate is really bogus. So do we just keep on, keeping on as long as it doesn't hurt? Ah me.

Mid-Rehab Stress Test

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:23:00 +0000

On Monday I took a stress test on the treadmill at my cardiologist's. The results left me wondering. Your maximum heart rate is calculated using 220 minus your age. I'm sixty-two which means my max rate is 158 (supposedly the fastest that my heart can beat). For Cardiac Rehab they gave me a target rate of 120-128 which they want me to hit and maintain for twenty minutes on two different machines. That's 75% and 80% of my max respectively.Here's my question: during the stress test I went to 170 heartbeats a minute and held it (and didn't die, thank God!). Doing the math backwards, does this mean I have the heart of a 20-year-old? (170 is 85% for a 20-year-old, 100% for a 50-year-old).

Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:12:00 +0000

The description for this blog used to be "things a writer thinks about." Unfortunately, (I'm told that I'll get over it eventually) since I had a heart attack in early May, the only things this writer has been thinking about all relate to that event. So while I still have a few weeks left in cardiac rehab I thought I would "rehab" this blog and get some of these things out of my system.

I've been collecting ideas and making notes with a view to produce (eventually!) something like My Vegetable Love: A Journal of a Growing Season by Carl H. Klaus. I won't be posting in any particular order. If I ever decide to scoop them into something approaching chronological that's way ahead of me.

new novel - new blog

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:51:00 +0000

I've decided to give this blogging-your-novel online a shot. Check out the second in the Senior Center Murder series at Gold Medal Murder. I'd love to hear some feedback on how I'm doing!

Someone on my side

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:25:00 +0000

Thanks are due to Walter McElligott, editor and gentleman. See the advance copy of Walt's interview with me which will appear in the July 2007 edition of the Clarion (Chicago Writers Association) in July.

Not so quiet after all

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 29 May 2007 14:26:00 +0000

I thought I was going to have a quiet week on my virtual tour - not so! Marlys Marshall Styne just posted her interview with me on her award-winning blog, "Never Too Late!" [Read about Marlys]

More on the virtual book tour

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Sat, 26 May 2007 15:44:00 +0000

A quiet week coming up, but I suppose that was to be expected with the holiday on Monday. I had thought briefly to ask several of my hosts later on tour if they would mind being moved up. I discarded this idea since they're already doing me a favor.

Friday, June 1st, Terry South of Quality Book Reviews will be posting a lengthy interview with me that she conducted. It will appear both on Quality Book Review's blog site as well as Terry's forum. Authors, please note that she has generously setup a special section where you can hype your book!

On the Senior Center Murders blog I'll be doing a series of posts on small writing groups in the Chicago-area. If you belong to a group that you would like featured, pop over there and leave me a comment. I'll use the email address that you leave to send you a questionnaire to fill out.

Interview by Mystery Buff

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 23 May 2007 17:36:00 +0000

Unlike most of the other interviews that I've done, this one is focused on the writing that I've done besides PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder. It was a bit of kick to take a brief look back. The interviewer even convinced me to offer up a humorous poem called "Entertaining Thoughts of God." It begins

Entertaining Thoughts of God
By Cheryl Hagedorn

God started his career at a carnival
Working with two dummies and a talking snake
Only to be replaced by a flaming sword act

He did six-week stint at a water show
Swore he’d never do that again

We had a good time in class when I read this one out loud. The instructor didn't get all the references so the class began shouting out the answers. If you need help, I'll do the first two stanzas above. The talking snake is Satan, the two dummies are Adam and Eve. They were kicked out of the garden of Eden and an angel with a flaming sword was sent to block their return. The six-week stint was the Flood which lasted forty days. God promised that he would never do that again. [Read the whole poem and interview]

Virtual book tour continues

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:04:00 +0000

Last week I posted the schedule for this week, but in case you forgot:

Yesterday, May 21, I was interviewed by Lonnie Cruse at Cruse'n with Lonnie. Leave a comment so we know that you stopped by!

Tomorrow, May 23, I'll be interviewed by MysteryBuff. There'll be some surprises there for those of you who think you know me!

Friday, May 25, The Doc, Major Donna Jackson of The Salvation Army, conducts a pretty intense interview about the writing of PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder.

One Week Down - How Long is this Tour?

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:20:00 +0000

Yesterday I had an interview (of sorts) on an Irish blog

Today I did another interview with Kestrell!

PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder

"Park Ridge is a very different mystery than the one I was expecting. It is a story full of surprises, but the most notable surprise is that the author chose to create a mystery which goes beyond cardboard cutout characters and instead chose to write a mystery which exposes many of our cultural stereotypes about people over the age of sixty. Park Ridge demonstrates one of the lures of mystery fiction: it's ability to show us how mysterious we can be to one another."

Purchase now from BookLocker - eBook, $8.95; trade paperback, $14.95 or from Amazon

For next week's excitement, check here.

Jump up and down with me!

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:49:00 +0000

What an incredible week this is turning out to be. Monday my stories about riding on Chicago's subway were published by a Chicago online magazine called Gaper's Block.

Then earlier today I was interviewed by author Jennifer DiCamillo.

AND, I just found out that my book has been reviewed by the Blind Bookworm! [It's a great review!]

I have two more interviews scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Jump up and down with me! I am so psyched!

"Strangers in Transit"

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:09:00 +0000

Remember that train story I posted a while back? Yesterday it was published along with several others in an article called "Strangers in Transit" - vignettes from rides on Chicago's L - by Gaper's Block. I don't know where they found the super photographs to accompany the article but I'm glad they did.

Are you a mystery reader?

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:14:00 +0000

A reader of mysteries, that is.

Here's your chance to interview a mystery author on your blog! If you check this link, you'll see what dates I still have available. If you're interested in having me as a guest on your blog, leave a comment at the Senior Center Murders Blog and I'll get back to you.

DePaul's MA in Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:59:00 +0000

Guess the story about Taking Over the Train started me thinking about DePaul. I rode the train to and from class, generally two nights a week.

So, in my post today on the Senior Center Murders Blog (instead of doing an interview with myself as part of the BookLocker virtual tour) I created a list of the professors that I had when I was at DePaul. Some of you may recognize the names: David Jolliffe, now at the University of Arkansas; Michele Morano, author of Grammar Lessons; Craig Sirles, Director of the MA in Writing; Lucy Rinehart; Eric Murphy Selinger; Peter Vandenberg; and S.L. Wisenberg.

I got a kick tracking down pictures and website addresses for all of them. I think that I may have posted the only photograph of Craig Sirles in circulation! It also brought back a lot of memories.

I'd be happy to hear from other graduates of the program or anyone who has stories to tell about any of the professors mentioned.

Taking Charge of the Train

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:19:00 +0000

I've just submitted some short-short anecdotes about riding the Chicago Transit Authority to an online magazine. I thought you might want to read one of them.

Tuesday night on the way home from class, I had just boarded the “L” at Washington. The automated announcement said, “Doors closing.”

A tall, scruffy person, who evidently had been sleeping when the train pulled in, shouted, “Is this Washington? I need to get off at Washington. This is my stop.” With that he leaped to the doorway and blocked the door. To no one in particular he repeated that he needed to get off here. While I was wondering why he didn’t simply go ahead and get off, he gestured to his collection of bags on the seat he had just left.

“Somebody gotta hold this door so I can get my stuff.”

We all just sat there staring at him. I sure wasn’t going to hold the door for him. Let him ride to the next stop and come back. That’s what I would have done. Have done.

“I mean it. Somebody gotta hold this door or y’all just gonna sit there. Train ain’t gonna move while I’m standin’ in the door.”

Finally a woman from the back of the car went and stood in the doorway in his place. He went to his seat, picked up a bag of clothing and hefted a bag of canned food. Evidently the bag felt too heavy to him and he dumped some of the cans onto the seat. He selected two from the assortment, put them back in the bag. He announced that he was leaving the rest and to “help yourselves.”

He thanked the lady who had held the door and with a flourish got off. As we pulled out of the station, he was dancing – leaping and spinning on the platform, one bag in each hand.

I'll let you know how it goes with the magazine. In the meantime, don't forget to keep an eye on what else I'm doing at the Senior Center Murders Blog.

Marjorie Abrams

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Wed, 02 May 2007 13:50:00 +0000

Today on Senior Center Murders Blog I interview Marjorie Abrams, author of Murder on the Prairie and Murder at Wakulla Springs, both North Florida Mysteries. Read the interview.

Don't forget that the BookLocker Virtual Book Tour continues the rest of this week and on into the next!

Ostomy Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Who would have thought that having surgery could give you a plot angle? No, I haven't had surgery, but Peter McGinn did. Ostomy surgery. And in his book, Caught in the Bag (neat pun, yes?), he had his heroine undergo ostomy surgery.

I interviewed Peter and I think you could learn a lot from how he used the incident in his book. Read the interview.

Author Appearance May 12

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:26:00 +0000

I'll be at the Niles Public Library (Illinois) on May 12 to read from my book, PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder, at 11 a.m. I'll also be taking questions and we can talk about writing in general.

Read my latest Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:58:00 +0000

This morning as I was trying to finalize my plans for the virtual book tour, I remembered that Kaye Trout had author interviews on her site. When I inquired about an interview, she quickly agreed.

I was sort of hoping to hold it until the tour starts but it's already up and I'm not one to argue with publicity! Click here to read it.

Virtual Book Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:42:00 +0000

I love writing about myself in the third person!

Cheryl Hagedorn will be on a virtual book tour from mid-May to mid-June talking about her book, PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder.

Thursday, May 17 will be with Grandad on Head Rambles
Friday, May 18 will be with Kestrell on the Blind Bookworm

Watch this space as dates are confirmed with Adam Woodworth's The Rantings, Jeff Markowitz's Doah's Deer, Mystery Buff, etc.

Visit Cheryl's Senior Center Murders Blog for author interviews, posts on writing, promotion, publishing, seniors and tons more! Be sure to drop in on the BookLocker Virtual Book Tour for Mystery Writers, April 30 - May 11.

Park Ridge Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Thought I'd post my book trailer here in case you don't want to wade through all the pictures of houses for sale in Park Ridge (the book is titled PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder).

My website is www.CherylTime.com.

If you'd like to email me,

Murder mystery marathon returns

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:06:00 +0000

For folks in the Chicagoland area, Channel 20 WYCC will be having another 2-day mystery marathon Easter weekend. Wow, do I love it!

Another note, BookLocker will be sponsoring a Virtual Book tour sometime in the near future. For full details you'll have to keep an eye on my Senior Center Murders blog.

Murder in the Grove

noreply@blogger.com (Cheryl Hagedorn) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:39:00 +0000

I had never considered having "readers." That is, until recently. I had some questions about a posting I saw for Murder in the Grove, a mystery writers convention in Boise, Idaho. When I decided to blog about it (I have another blog, Senior Center Murders), I contacted one of the organizers and suggested that she might want to comment. Her response was, "It's easiest for me if you send me some questions, since I don't know just what you and your readers might find interesting."

So there you are! I have "readers." She used the phrase again in a later email. "I'm impressed with the research you do to give your readers easy access to additional info." Amazing! Somebody thinks that I have "readers."