AJ's Sharebook 

 It's amazing how the loss of a beloved pet can effect a person. It's been a slow process, and I know I'll always miss her, but I think I'm finally getting on after Jackal's death. So much so that inspite of, or perhaps because of, the incredible stress and stupidity going at work with the remod I've been getting writing done here and there and have even endeavored to resurrected a story idea I began years ago.

Anyone who knows me knows I have a special affinity for asylums and the poor souls harbored within. For years I've studied the history of mental illness, it's treatments and of course its housing. Particularly in the state of Michigan. This interest prompeted me to use the idea of aptients in an asylum as the basis for a short story assignment during my sophomore year in high school. My teacher (more incensed by the scene than even the story) failed me. Whatever happened to encouraging the creative spirit? Telling the story that cries to be told? Anywho, long story strange, that was a crushing blow to my creativity and I not only locked the idea away but gave up writing for awhile.

Once I got out of high school I started writing again but it's only now that I've finally returned to my asylum story. This gives me a great sense of completion and inspiration both for the story itself and my other works in progress. Funny the lasting effect teachers can have on students even after they're not your teachers any more. Or maybe that's just me?