Stuck in a Loop

James Fogle, Drugstore cowboy, 04/08
Originally uploaded by elliotedizioni

Yesterday, I was catching up on the news when I read that writer James Fogle had been arrested. Again. Mr. Fogle is probably best known for his novel, Drugstore Cowboy, which was also made into a tremendously good movie starring Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch. Based on his experiences as junkie in the Pacific Northwest, the story chronicles a fumbling band of thieves and addicts who roamed the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s stealing drugs and money from pharmacies. Fogle was in prison when the critically acclaimed film was released in 1989. He was also on a brief stint in the big house when the book was released.

Writers are strange characters. As a writer, it is difficult not to become very personally acquainted with rejection which is perhaps why many develop such a thick hide, anything to overcome the loneliness and rejection that is so closely associated with the profession. I've met writers who are compulsive organizers, drinkers, gamblers, womanizers. Some have lives that are so boring that they are drawn towards their secret worlds as a refuge. Who am I talking about here, I wonder?

But Dude, really? Knocking off drugstores? At your age? What up?! I've been stuck in a loop, too, but this is ridiculous!

I want to suggest to all of you - writers or no- who are doing the same thing over and over and over and unable to unstick the needle from the record to do the following: Change. Things. Up. Go for a bike ride. Walk in the rain. Walk backwards for a mile while singing a Rogers and Hammerstein tune. But try to change. Embrace it, even. You'll be amazed at how freeing it can be.