Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where I help you tame your inner critic and create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education. How I accomplish this is by providing you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo again this year as I did last year and you can hear those episodes here. You will be able to listen and read along with what I wrote for the day. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. It is my hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at timothy@createartpodcast.com
History of NaNoWriMo and NaPodPoMo
NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.
NaPodPoMo: NaPodPoMo* is a month-long event similar to National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The difference? Well, instead of writing a 50,000-word novel, you post a podcast episode every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting boot camp.
The Writing So Far
2 Nov 2022 words today 1731 words total 3412
Two men were in the group that had gathered outside of the school one was wearing thick glasses while the other one was moving something around in his pockets. Both of them were part of the homeowner's association for the neighborhood across the street from the school and lingered just outside of the group. When the other neighbors decided to leave, they nodded to each other and went to their respective homes across from each other down the street. They both went into their basement home offices and reported back to Bruce with their findings.
Wolfgang had calmed down from the incident. The deep breaths he took calmed his nerves and he knew he would need to report to his uncle as soon as possible. After he shot the girl at the school and cleared the casings he walked out of the school and down the street to his getaway car that was parked just a few blocks away. The plates were registered to an old lady downstate and the car was an older model Oldsmobile. He made sure to switch off the camera jammer that covered his entrance to the school and his exit so that when the police viewed the tapes nothing would be viewable. He unscrewed the still-hot silencer from the pistol and put both items back in their cases. Cleaning his hands with baby wipes before starting the car, he made sure to remove any gunpowder residue on his fingers. Driving the car to the safehouse was quick as it was only a few more blocks away and he could switch out to his normal car. As he approached the safehouse he tapped the garage door remote and quickly pulled the old car next to his. Leaving the getaway car unlocked he exited quickly leaving the gun and silencer case in the front seat to be removed later and got into his normal car and headed back to work. While driving back he pulled out his burner phone to contact his uncle and placed the call.
“The best answer to anger is silence,” said Wolfgang.
“How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life,” replied Bruce.
Wolfgang parked his car back at work after stopping off and paying cash for coffees for his boss and coworkers. It had been only 30 minutes since he departed for his task. He walked up to his coworkers' desks and dropped off the coffee before heading to his boss’ office. Before approaching his boss, he took three deep breaths and knocked on the door.
“Wow you got back quick, glad you didn’t get stuck in traffic, there’s been a shooting at the elementary school,” said Wolfgang’s boss, still seated behind his desk looking at his computer screen.
“Oh, I hadn’t heard,” Wolfgang coolly replied. “Anyone hurt,” he asked.
“Not sure, I have been getting messages from my wife and I got a safe message from my boy, he attends that school. They seem to be fine, but they won’t let the kids go out the front entrance,” replied his boss.
“Well, I am glad he is fine, I thought you had a daughter, not a son,” asked Wolfgang.
“Nope, junior is in the fourth grade there. After the shooting at the high school two years ago I gave him a cell phone for situations like these. It is getting so crazy out there with these random shootings you can’t be too careful,” replied his boss.
“I thought that shooting at the high school was staged, at least that is what I read online,” said Wolfgang.
“I’m not sure what online chat forums you are reading, but that was real. I am glad the state cracked down on the gun dealerships. The only ones that thought it was staged were those tinfoil-wearing loons protesting at the school the next day. Those folks need to wake up,” replied his boss.
“I didn't follow the case that much because I don’t have kids, but didn’t the FBI find something that led them to believe it was staged,” replied Wolfgang.
“Nah, it was those Z guys thinking it was a conspiracy to take their guns away. I can’t believe we have groups like that here in our county in 2022. If you tell them the sky is blue, they don’t believe you and come up with something about chemtrails coloring the sky. Hey, thanks for grabbing coffee for the team. I know we have been burning the midnight oil pretty late these last couple of weeks. Take an extra-long lunch today and I will see you tomorrow okay,” said his boss.
“I have got some work I need to finish up today, mind if I take my computer to the spare office and get it knocked out before lunch,” asked Wolfgang.
“Yeah, go right ahead, it’s unlocked,” replied his boss. “Oh, by the way, Mark had to go home to check on his wife. I guess it has something to do with the shooting today. His kid is in the same class as mine.”
“No, I didn’t know that I hope everything is okay,” replied Wolfgang.
“Probably just a precaution. Sometimes wives at home can be frigidity. Especially with shootings and their kids. I told him to get a cell phone for his kid as I did, but he said he didn’t want a digital leash on his kid,” replied the boss.
Wolfgang went back to his cubicle and grabbed his backpack and his work computer and headed quickly to the spare office. Once inside he closed the blinds, shut the door, and locked it. He put his work computer on the dock and started it back up to the project he was working on before the incident and then pulled a mini laptop from his backpack and turned on his encryption for the mini laptop. Once he was all set up, he logged into the virtual office where Bruce was waiting.
“I am not Mr. Clean over here,” said Wolfgang.
“Understood, just got out of a meeting, The dog catcher wants to know where they can find a stray,” replied Bruce.
“If they wait until this afternoon I can take them to the den of strays in person,” replied Wolfgang.
“I’ll let animal control know, out,” said Bruce abruptly.
The screen went blank, and Wolfgang turned off the encryptor and shut down the mini laptop. He placed It back in his bookbag and leaned back in the chair in the darkened office and smiled. His plan to make a name for himself among the followers of Zeno was working. His intended target was the boss's child. He wanted to cause a great deal of emotional stress since his boss discounted the followers of Zeno since the last shooting and disparaged their names. Killing the girl was a rooky mistake, he’d know better next time to track his intended target better, but for a first kill he was pleased with his escape and cover story. He continued working on the project that he had started that morning before he went to commit his crime. It was then that he connected the two threads, he killed Mark’s child by mistake. He quickly finished up his work and left for lunch thirty minutes beforehand. Mark was the star employee winning all of the awards and was a combat Veteran. He actually looked up to and idolized Mark and thought he would be a great recruit for the followers of Zeno. He noticed Mark always had a book of stoicism with him at lunch and on his desk. As he left the spare office he walked by Mark’s desk, just a few cubicles down from his, and saw a book flipped over and opened. It was Seneca’s Letters From a Stoic and there were dogeared pages throughout.
Mark found his wife on the living room floor when he burst into their house. She was breathing, only it was very shallow, and he tried to rouse her. He was sure she had gotten the messages from the neighborhood social media page that had flooded his phone this morning. When he saw the message that said active shooter he knew immediately he had to get home. When he tried to call her, and she didn’t answer, he left work and raced home. She woke up and immediately started asking questions.
“Where’s Winnona is she alright? Jesus this is like the worst dream ever. Why aren’t you at work, what’s going on,” cried Tinley?
“I know about as much as you do dear. Are you physically okay, are you hurt anywhere,” Mark asked?
“Oh god no no no no, is she,” asked Tinley.
“I don’t know, there aren’t any details. We probably won’t know for a few hours. I am sure she is fine because she knows what to do, we have trained her, and the school has procedures for this. We just have to trust the system and let it take its course,” Mark tried to reassure his wife.
“Mark, I can’t feel her, she is dead. Who would do something like that, she is just nine years old. She wouldn’t hurt a flea and her classmates love the fuck out of her. I love the fuck out of her. Why tell me why,” cried Tinley.
“Shhhh, now, we don’t know, and we don’t need to go into panic mode over this. She has been through several active shooter drills, and she knows what to do. She is more prepared than the teachers and she can defend herself. We just must trust she kept her head, and she is fine. Let's just sit on the couch and breathe for a few minutes,” said Mark.
Tinley got up off the floor leaning on her husband. They both sat on the couch as she sobbed, and he held her to keep himself from crying. Their phones were pining messages from the neighborhood social media page and from friends who had heard about the news of the school shooting. They waited for an eternity to get a signal from Winnona telling them she was safe. Tinley somehow knew that signal would never come and that made her cry even harder. Mark’s anger smoldered as he listened to his wife’s sobs, and he tried to encourage her to take deep breaths as he was doing audibly.
Reaching Out
To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.
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