Sometimes I look back over the places I’ve been and the conferences and festivals I’ve had the privilege of attending and I get a bit nostalgic.

Singapore, Mexico, Iran, Pakistan, India, Denmark, Sharjah, Italy! The list goes on! Wow! I’ve really been a LOT of places!

I remember the trips so fondly! Although at the time they were extremely stressful!

As I age, these kinds of trips are taking a bigger toll on my body. And yet, I really had such wonderful times!

And I have come to firmly believe that when you remember someone, there is some sort of psychic connection in the atmosphere, because just as you think of someone, they’re also thinking of you!

It’s happened way too many times to be some sort of coincidence.

I’ll be thinking of someone, and days later I’ll get a call or an email or something where they say they were thinking of me too.

This is out of the blue! When I have absolutely no reason to be thinking of for example, the gentleman I met in Mexico when I went down there for the Universal Forum of Cultures.

It’s so nice when you get re-invited, or even if they just want to bring you back but they don’t have the resources.

There are so many NICE people in the world!!!

And I’ve met so many of them!

But then I’m also getting to the point where nowadays, whenever I’m a little bit too honest or blunt for my own good, and I put my foot in my mouth a bit, or I may have closed a door that was swinging open for me, I can just shrug and think, “C’est la vie.”

And move on, with no regrets.

Part of me thinks, hey, if they can get their nose out of joint just from a little bit of bluntness, then maybe it’s just as well. I’m not talking about saying anything rude. I’m just talking about expressing an opinion that they might disagree with–after I was asked for it!

And part of me thinks that there comes a point when your body of work has to stand for something and you don’t have to pussy foot around people.

I know that kids can relate to the stories I write. They just have to be exposed to them. And I know I’m coming at stories from a completely different mindset so I’m offering something unique. And it’s something of value.

If people aren’t in to that, if they can let an off colour remark offend them so easily, then it’s okay. There are others out there. Not everyone has to like me.

One actress, Jennifer Lawrence, was talking about how women are expected to be so nice, to take a cut in pay compared to male colleagues and not make waves about being paid the same amount. And she was sick of it.

I can certainly understand that.

Maybe it’s only when you get older that you get the courage of being not always nice.

I try never to be mean but hey, don’t ask me a question unless you’re prepared for an answer you might not like. I might just give you a completely honest answer without putting it in proper diplomatic double-speak, and what I’ve learned is that there are MANY people who can’t handle complete honesty.

I’m not trying to be mean. And if the situation were reversed I would definitely not take offense. I would consider the opinion being offered very seriously, and take a personal inventory, and decide whether the opinion was valid or not. It’s just the way I’ve learned to be.

And yet it’s so important to make connections! To be nice to everyone! You never know when such connections can lead to opportunities.

Oh dear, I know I just totally contradicted myself, but then that too is part of dealing with the world out there.

Never mind. Let’s end with that original thought.

La la la la!

Nostalgia and good times and good friends!

Aaahhh!