Early mornings and old westerns

I like to get up early. I don't always like going to work early, but getting up early is becoming a habit. I like creeping around the dark house and settling in for a time of reading, grading, coffee sipping, etc. This morning I've got company. I finished making my vocab quiz in record time. Surprise! My man is up as well and watching a 1967 Civil War/western, replete with heroes, gun battles, and that annoying orchestral soundtrack that wants to be sure you know who the good guys are and when something's going to happen. George Hamilton looked like a mannequin when he was young and Max Baer was his craziest Jethro as a Confederate soldier tracking "blue-bellies" in the old west. Oh wait, he just took one in the belly, oh no, looks like the girl heads back to town to become a hooker. Music up, cut to sunset, credits--ah, at least it's over. It actually had a decent script, but the triteness, the heavy reliance on movie tradition, the pure oldness of it makes it a surreal wake-up on a Friday morning. Hope your day is off to a good start, too.

What's wrong with fiction?

Why in the world couldn't this young lady have simply written an excellent novel? More later on this.