I Wrote a New BOOK!!!!

I’ve been working on this secret project for more than a year just after I bought my laptop computer back in December 2015.  The new book is called:

The Outside In View of Uncommon Bostonian: 

What a Autistic Black Woman Sees

I went to the publisher called BookBaby to create both a paperback book and an ebook.  It includes the blog posts I made when the orignal Uncommon Bostonian blog was connected to The Boston Now dailey newspaper back in 2007 to 2008.  It also has some of the essays I’ve written in recent years and some of my black and white paintings that I made in the last couple of years.  I write about the Beatles, the soap One Live to Live, the Dave Clark Five, the Monkees, and other things.  I created the artwork on the cover.  It’s my Purple Haze painting.

Go to this link to purchase your copy:

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/The-Outside-in-View-of-Uncommon-Bostonian1

Here’s a picture of both the front and back cover of the paperback.

Or: You can click on this picture to gain access to the book.

The Tragic Plane Crash That Stunned The Music World in 1959

Remembering Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens who died in a plane crash in Iowa on this day in 1959. It’s been called The Day The Music Died! It inspired the song American Pie by Don McLean.

That Will Be The Day by Buddy Holly

Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper

Donna by Ritchie Valens

American Pie by Don McLean

A Thing I Wrote Last Month In My Journal (Nov. 13)

November 13: What would have been my father’s 99th birthday

Sitting up late (it was after midnight on November 13) in this subsidized apartment, which is studio sized, is not my cup of tea. Wish I could afford a house that I really like. Unfairly, I don’t get the job opportunities that pay a lot.

I have tried self-employment, but I get so little money out of that. I wonder why. That’s what pisses me off!

I to write a new book of essays and art. Maybe, some blog posts too.

My late father was self-employed as a dentist. He did work for others when he was younger. He saw relatives of bosses get jobs that they were not qualified for. It’s call nepotism.

I wish nepotism could help me out, but none of my relatives are bosses.

I have have relatives that I haven’t seen in years. What’s with them? When both my parents were still alive, they (the distant relatives) would ask about me. I found this odd because they were too afraid to talk to me. It was none of their business about what was going on in my life. I wasn’t interested in theirs, but I was taught not to be interest by family, teachers, and classmates.

End of the journal entry

(Clarification: The distant relatives were ones that I met when I was very young at least once or twice and hadn’t seen since I was maybe 13 or 14 years old. I can barely remember their names.)

(How was I taught to be not interested in others? They yelled at me a lot while I was growing up saying “It’s none of your business” to me routinely, especially when I was in elementary school.)

Despite the negative learning, I did find interest in individuals I met in college at Emerson and after I graduated. Why? They really stood out!!!

I Want To Get Paid To Write, But No One Wants Me To Profit From That!

Once again, I wonder why. Is it because people don’t like me? It is not my fault that I am not a social butterfly. I happen to be autistic, and I have been that way my whole life. It wasn’t a vaccine that caused it. Autism has been around for centuries. It was never something that came from the 20th century.

I have proven myself to be a competent writer too many times. I lost count in fact. Why are people so stupid? I recall a time before I found out that I am really autistic when I told a recruiter (a job hunter) that I wanted to get paid as a writer, but she thought I wanted to answer the phone and meet and greet people who came into the office.

I became an outgoing person after I finished college, but they didn’t care about that. I was told that if I became more outgoing I would have more job opportunities. That isn’t true because I had both job and financial difficulites as my reward for being out going.

They lied to me!

(Fact: I do have friends, but they aren’t in a position for hire me as a writer because none of them are employers. They don’t mind that I am autistic. The “People” I refer to in this piece are people who are too quick to judge me. Also, they don’t want to be my friend, no matter what I do.)

I Didn’t Mean To Stay Away From This Blog For So Long!

Being an autistic Black woman living in the big city (Boston) has been hard the last couple of years. It has kept me away from this blog so many times that I have lost count. When I started it back in July 2005, I was pounding out at least 5 or 6 posts per week. Sometimes, even more than that.

Problem is trying to find a positive way to get paid for writing this blog or maybe have this blog convince an employer to hire me for my writing talent, but that never happened. I have always promoted it a lot in the past. Going to networking events, parties, and other social gatherings, I would tell everyone in the room about my talents as a writer and an artist, but it seems those people didn’t care about this autistic Black woman’s talents. They seemed to care about things I never cared about and didn’t believe I was a capable person at doing other things. A few people do, but they are not in a position to pay me a huge salary.

During the years when I didn’t know that I was autistic (and no one else knew either), I had a lot of difficult relationships and situations. These days, I have physical problems with my lower back, my right hip, and now my left foot. I have recently moved from Roslindale to Hyde Park in Massachusetts (I’m still in Boston). I now have to go to physical therapy for my left foor because the ankle pain that resulted from my move. My life consists of talking to people who are finding ways to help me live a normal life with the physical pain I have to deal with on a daily basis. My left foot is wearing a brace to keep it from collapsing on itself.

Last November, my car that I had named Baby Blue (the 2012 Mustang Convertible) was parked outside my Roslindale apartment at night and was hit by another car. The insurance company declared it totaled. I felt as though one of my cats had died. In December 2022, a couple of days before my birthday, I managed to get a new car that named White Satin (a 2020 Mustang Convertible). When I moved out of my old apartment in Roslindale, I couldn’t help but think about Baby Blue and how I lost her. At least, I still have my 2 cats, Rogue and Destiny, with me at my new home.

Even though I have lived in Boston for a long time, I still find it amazing that it’s still difficult for me to make a decent salary (I had a lot of education and work experience for most of my adult life, but employers don’t think all that is good enough).

I am looking into other ways to make money. Right now, I am still stuck in a day job that can’t cover all my cost of living expenses.

Now, I am focusing on making my life different. I am going to continue to blog, but at infrequent times.

Happy Birthday, Dean!

On this day in 1917, Dean Martin (Dino Paul Crocetti) was born! Greatly missed! (Dean passed away on December 25, 1995)

Love this guy!

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Roy Orbison

Remembering Lefty Wilbury, better know as Roy Orbison on his birthday (April 23, 1936). He left us when he was only 52 years old due to a heart attack on December 6, 1988. He made great music on this Earth before he died. He was also a member of the Traveling Wilburys.

Here are some videos and picture of Roy!

I Write Because I Wanted Acceptance! I Want More!

I decided to become a writer when I was a teenager back when I was still in high school in Maryland. People were always taking issue over the fact I was (and still am) different. Of course, it would take another 20 years before I learned that I was autistic. I wanted to be a journalist because I could report to the public about the big strange world that we live in.

It seemed perfect to go to college at Emerson in the city of Boston. They were (and still are) a college of communications and theater. I got to do a lot of things including journalism. I imagined that I would be working somewhere in the huge world of journalism. However, that field was really small and had to follow certain rules (the ones that I could not understand or realize because I am autistic). It became impossible to earn money as a writer or a journalist despite all the efforts I put into it.

Was the goal to high? I didn’t think so. I created 2 blogs that are both have a lot of posts, but in recent years I don’t post as much. I haven’t lost the passion for writing (I write in my personal journals, but I’m not going to post them here or at the other blog). I had to deal with things in the real world outside of the internet. Also, I rather get paid for blogging than blog for free.

I certainly have the experience to write a blog. Hell, I have this one and other one (Uncommon Bostonian). I just have to figure out a way to get paid for writing and that keeps me from blogging for free here.

But don’t get me wrong I am not giving up blogging.

Remembering Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper!

It’s been 64 years since that plane crash in that Iowa cornfield. We lost 3 rock stars that day. Still a big loss!

A Belated Birthday to Bon, Simon LeBon!

Yesterday, Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon celebrated his 64th birthday! Hope you had a great day, Simon!

This was a great video they did for Roger Moore’s final James Bond movie, A View To A Kill! This movie co-starred Grace Jones as a female villain! Great times back in the 1980s.

Happy 82nd Birthday, John Lennon

The late Beatle would have been 82 years old. It’s upsetting that he could have been writing more and making more music if he hadn’t been cruelly murdered back in 1980.

I added this video because John advocated for world peace. As I am writing up this post, I am watching the news and the first story they report is about a murder-suicide in Kingston, MA. Sadly, the world is still very violent.