AN EARTHY ANGEL...YES, THEY ARE STILL WITH US!

Hi Everyone,

I am so happy to be writing this post today. It's been several years since my last Earthly Angel sighting. Sad, but true...

BUT...

Yesterday, one took me by surprise and restored my faith that they are still walking among us. For those of you who are not familiar with my EA posts, let me explain. An Earthly Angel is a very special person indeed. Out of sheer kindness they come to the rescue of another human being without expecting anything in return.

In a big city like Chicago, these wonderful beings are rare, or at least out of plain sight. One would be hard pressed to find one especially in the downtown area where there is so much hustle and bustle.

I live in an area called Printer's Row. It used to house all the book and newspaper printers in the city. Now, it consists of these wonderful old building turned condo, with storefronts on the lower levels. An historic landmark graces the main cross street at Polk and Dearborn. Dearborn Station used to be the downtown rail station at the turn of the twentieth century. Now, it too, has been reconverted for commercial space. It was in front of this wonderful old building that I encountered an EA.

Several minutes before, I had met a friend at a nearby park about a block away. My Westie, Hamlet and I were sitting by the fountain, when my friend joined us. We chatted about our day, and then he decided to accompany us in a walk around the neighborhood before heading home. Just before we arrived at Hamlet's favorite park, a few blocks away, my friend realized his wallet was missing. We feverishly checked his backpack and the shopping bag he was carrying. The wallet was nowhere to be found.

He raced back to the fountain and I followed close behind. We checked the area where we sat, even the garbage cans surrounding the plaza, hoping to at least find the wallet. Most people just take the cash and toss the wallet, knowing fully well that the credit cards would be canceled immediately. Sadly, we found nothing.

He lost not only his wallet, but his iPhone was inside as well. Not to mention all his ID's, credit cards, medical cards, and CASH... he had just withdrawn a considerable amount a few minutes before meeting me.

Since he had no landline, I offered to help him call and cancel everything with my cell phone. As we walked in front of Dearborn Station a lovely young African American woman stopped us. She looked straight at my friend.

"Are you Ulises Gonzalez?"

Both of us looked shell shocked. Right away I answered..."Did you find a wallet?"

She smiled so sweetly and pulled the wallet out of her bag, handing it to my friend. Everything was intact. Nothing was taken. "Yes. I had just left your apartment building. I looked at your address on your license and planned to leave the wallet with the doorman, but he wasn't there." She looked up at him and smiled again. "I am so glad I found you."

Still in shock, Ulises just stood there. I hugged and thanked her. I insisted she take a reward. "At least have dinner on us." 

She shook her head. "That is not necessary. I am just so happy you have your wallet back."

I nudged Ulises, and he sprang to life, thanking and hugging her, too.

"You must let me buy you dinner. Take this, please." He stuffed a bill into her hand and hugged her again. 

In all the excitement, I forgot to ask her name.  I looked at my friend and said, "God certainly sent an angel down to you today. What a sweetheart."

He agreed. We talked about her during the rest of the walk. 

I hope to run into her again. It may never happen. But I hope so. She looked like one of the college students from Columbia University which is in my neighborhood. She certainly found my friend's apartment rather quickly. 

Her face was lovely, with large, dark eyes. And a smile that could melt you with a glance. May God bless that caring young woman. She is certainly an EA in my book!

Writing this post reminded me how much I enjoy discovering Earthly Angels, and writing about them. So PLEASE if you have an EA story, do share it in the comments. OR you can send it to me and I will feature it in a post.

Thanks for dropping by today. I hope this story puts a smile on your face and warmth in your heart! There is so much GOOD in or world, we just have to be aware of it.

Sending out a big hug to you all! Have a wonderful rest of week and weekend!

ANGST ABOUT RE-SUBMERGANCE INTO A STORY ....AN IWSG POST

Hi All,

Can you believe it's already September?! Where did this year go? I apologize for missing the past two months, but moving back to Chicago did throw me for a loop. I was sick over a moth with allergies and a terrible cold. I guess my body just wasn't used to all the pollens and pollution in this city compared to Orlando.

Last month I spend finishing up the remaining remodeling projects of my condo. I am happy to say, they are almost finished.

Many of you know I had a great start on a wonderful memoir. I hadn't written a word on it until yesterday because of what's been going on in the rest of my life. It is tough getting back in the grove! Don't you think? The words practically wrote themselves for the first half of the book. Now that I am in Chicago and away from the person I am writing for, it is so much tougher. Has this ever happened to you? Able to write in one home and not in the other? Odd...

I did manage to get some pages written AFTER reading the previous thirty of forty pages. This does work. One does have to immerse themselves back into the story if there has been a long hiatus. I am hoping I can get through this angst and continue to capture this amazing woman's life with all the gusto she had when she lived it.

This month's question is hitting home for me. 
What publishing path are you considering and why? 

For me, I always strived for traditional publishing...get a top NYC agent and move on from there. Well....after ten years of trying, I am still not published. I have come so close to nabbing a great agent, especially on my second book. My query is strong, my pages are clean, they request the full, and sadly pass on it. Not much feedback is given. It has happened about ten times for me so far this year on this particular story. I am tired of the rejection. How many more should I get before moving on to possibly self publishing? I have thought long and hard. I may shelf it for another year and concentrate on the memoir. It has a very good chance of enticing the right agent. Then...if that pans out and the story gets published, I can go back to my second novel and it may have a better chance. 

Your thoughts?

Sorry for the "Loaded" questions today, but I am at a sort of crossroads. Ten years is a long time. Many of you know how hard I've tried and how tenacious I can be. I know we all have our own roads to take and we all have different times. I have honed my craft and still strive to improve. I guess that is all we can do.

Thanks for listening. You are all truly wonderful friends and even though I tend to disappear from time to time, ALWAYS remember you are in my thoughts. We are an amazing community of incredibly talented people.

Thank you Alex for all your support and kindness throughout the many years I have known you. To all of the co-hosts and administrative talent in the IWSG... you know who you are... My sincerest THANKS for all of your hard work and caring for our community. You all deserve a golden TROPHY!!!

For those of you who are still on the lurch of joining the IWSG, don't hesitate to sign up here.


I hope everyone is well and I'm sending you all a HUGE CYBER HUG!