Sticking One's Neck Out

I've only seen "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" a handful of times, but in none of these episodes have I ever seen him win. The show's premise is that Flay challenges a chef who's an expert in a particular dish (pizza, pad thai, et cetera) to a cook-off. The idea that he could best an expert chef would seem a little arrogant, if Flay didn't work so hard to hone his own skills at the dish, and if he didn't lose so gracefully. I admire his willingness to put himself out there and risk failure. Either he would make a good fiction writer, or I should take up cooking.

Failure

"Just add water" is menacingly deceptive.

Ultramarathon Man

Tonight's Tri Club meeting came in the form of a movie premiere. "UltraMarathon Man," which follows Dean Karnazes as he runs fifty marathon in fifty states in fifty days. Which begs the question: what leads someone to attempt something so nutty?

I think the reason lies in the fact that those of us living the good life--people with good health, enough food, potable water, safe shelter, a stable government--have the luxury of pushing ourselves to achieve things that don't have to be done. For Karnazes, it's incredible displays of athletic endurance. For my husband, it's round the clock science. Me? Writing stories.

I suppose I bring this up now because I've been taking a lot of literary rejection lately. Usually I have a thick skin for this type of thing, but it's wearing on me. It makes me wonder why I want to publish. The whole process kicks your ass like a long-distance race.