I did something a little...permanent.  I got a new tattoo - Charles' pilot wings on the inside of my right wrist.  I've been tinkering with the idea since I got back from the Normandy trip last summer.  After a particularly good writing run and a whole lot of inspiration, I sucked it up and got my ink.  I completely love it!  Look at me, bein' a badass with a new tattoo...  ;)

A new work project brought a new and kind of amazing surprise into my life and I have been so busy that I've not been able to spend much time with Charles or on the book.  It was terrible timing from a creative perspective as I'd pushed through three new chapters before the cray cray Hurricane Ivan blew my doors open, but I am so so so happy and challenged with work that I can't complain.  Lots of exciting things on the horizon and I just know that Charles will, as always, wait patiently for me.

We Three

Charles and his P-51 Mustang,
"We Three" in England, 1944

I don't know whether I should credit Charles or Paul McCartney for this discovery.  As all things Charles go, he shows me to the most interesting, sometimes useless but always absolutely priceless gifts.  A few weeks ago I was trolling though iTunes looking for something new and I stumbled on the new Paul McCartney album.  He was so cool on the Grammy's I thought I'd give it a listen.  It was all okay, a bunch of cool reboots of old songs and then track number six made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  I'd never heard it before and when I looked at the title, I teared up - We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me).  I'm going with Charles showed me this by way of Paul McCartney.  How could I not?

I looked it up and it turns out that this song was originally recorded and made popular by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra with Frank Sinatra on vocals in 1940.  Now, I know that Charles named his plane, We Three, for his little family, but it made me wonder...  Everything I've learned about him and his character leads me to believe that he knew this song and that it might have played some small part.  If you click on the link and take a listen, it's a little sad and eerie -  We Three, we'll wait for you, even til eternity, my echo, my shadow and me, we'll be there waiting.  Spooky.

WWII Aerial Intelligence Photos Declassified

I always get excited when I find some new Charles-related info.  My friend CJ told me about a NOVA documentary - that of course I missed - called "3D Spies of WWII," about the photo recon pilots of WWII.  It highlights the RAF (Royal Air Force) more than the USAAF but it's still cool that the work these pilots did is being documented like this.  It wasn't a direct line to Charles or his service as it starts with the RAF beginning their aerial recon in 1939, way ahead of the US entry into WWII, and these guys flew Spitfires while Charles flew a P-51 Mustang, but it was at least a peek into his job while stationed in England.  I assumed this new little nugget was more RAF (Royal Air Force) news than anything else, until I learned the name of this particular collection that is being preserved by the National Collection of Aerial Photography which falls under the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland organization: The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA).  I guess Charles felt like he needed to spread the love. This time it wasn't for me.  This time he was saying hello to my sister, Tara. 

In late 2009, nearly ten million aerial photos were declassified and released to the public through this archive.  They continue to digitize and release more every day.  Crazy.  Unfortunately the photos that I've seen don't indicate a pilot's name so the possibility of matching up even one of Charles' images is nearly impossible.  However, everything I've uncovered, discovered or learned along this journey makes me sure that the word 'impossible' doesn't mean what I used to think it did. 

Querying Again

Sent out two more queries for articles or press about mine and Charles' journey this year.  I want so badly for Texas Monthly to pick it up.  Why wouldn't they?  I mean, it's a jewel of a story, especially by their standards and I just can't help but think that if I keep persisting and keep sending in queries that one of these days it's going to end up in a champions hands or on the right persons desk and I'll get the call.  I think I'm stubborn enough to keep trying until I get the answer I want.  In addition to TM, I sent out a long-shot of an email to Anderson Cooper. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants?!  

December 7, 1941



Believed to be the first bomb dropped during the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harobor - nicked from WIKI

We all know the significance of that historical date. We learned about it in school and we've seen it in movies like Pearl Harbor (2001), From Here to Eternity(1953), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and the to-die-for mini-series from 1983, Winds of War. Aside from a passing acknowledgement of the day, I'm not sure that I ever paid that much attention to it. It's not a federal holiday, the banks are open and other than a flurry of newsy posting on my home page or a solemn story of a veteran's survival, I hadn't thought about how this single, catastrophic event impacted my family history and therefore, me.
 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it "a day that will live in infamy."  I realized today that this event and this day was the day that changed the course of Charles' life.  Granny Bob told me how important it was to him to volunteer - that he couldn't wait to enlist.  She said he wanted to be a pilot and an officer more than anything in the world.  Two months after Pearl Harbor, Charles drove to Dallas and enlisted with the US Army Air Force. 

I've read remembrances and articles today with a stoic appreciation for all that these men sacrificed. This whole year, and the surprising discoveries and experiences I've had because of Charles, have awakened a patriotism that I didn't realize was asleep. Today was another flag-waving day in the evolution of me.

Veteran's Day 2011

Charles is still very busy...

1st Lt. Charles E. Stone - 1943

That daunting "an article must be wrtiten" directive from my Normandy Angels can finally be checked off the list.  An article about my trip to Normandy and the recovery was printed this week in Linden - perfectly timed to commemorate Veteran's Day.  I spoke to G-Bob this morning and she's weepy but so proud.  She was delighted to tell me that her phone has been ringing off the hook with people calling her about the article.  I'm so happy to have been able to do all this for her.  For all of us.  

I'm in DC today and will be able to go to the WWII Memorial on the National Mall and place flowers for Charles.  I'm not surprised that all these little things clicked into place or happened at just the right time.  Charles is patient, dilligent and has a dramatic sense of timing which always surprises me.  He's constantly reminding me how important this journey is, and I remain grateful. 

Fiction is the Easy Part...

Writing the real stuff is what's really hard.  When I started this project, I thought for sure it would be the other way around.  I have hours and hours of audio taped conversations with Granny Bob, so all I have to do is put those stories into words and onto the page, right?  Technically, yes.  But I didn't anticipate how hard it would be do it right.  Writing her isn't the problem - she's a character that I have known my entire life.  I know her voice, I know her quirks and mannerisms and have loved her for 40 years.  The challenge has been developing this fictional Charles as she knew and loved him and balancing that with how I've always imagined he would have been.  Before I heard her stories about him, I don't think I ever romanced him enough.  And now that I'm spending so much time with him I don't think I can romance him enough.  I always bristle when I read books and characters are too perfect - but as I'm writing him and creating his character - I don't think perfect will do him justice. 

I wish more than anything that I'd had enough foresight, wisdom or maturity to talk to my great aunt and Charles' sister, about him before she passed away in 1996.  I was 26 then and definitely old enough to ask - but we'd all been so sensitive about him and about how tragic his death had been, that I never broached the subject.  I imagine Sister would have told me the same things though.  She would have confirmed all Baa's stories, vouched for his character and told me what a good man he was and how much she loved him.  In the end, I'm sure she would have insisted that he really was perfect. 

Writing fiction is fun.  Wriring memoir is important.  Writing a perfect Charles is a whole lot of pressure.