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Writings of Andrea W. LeDew
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So glad you have signed up to receive the For Random Learning Comes Newsletter! This is the one hundred and twenty-second edition.
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Usually these newsletters go out every two weeks on the weekend, but my schedule--perhaps like yours--is a little off these days.
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The weather here has been persistently cold. Not something any of us in Florida are used to. Typing with cold fingers is not quite as pleasurable as with warm ones.
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Despite this fact, I did manage to finish three pieces for your reading pleasure. The first, most recent one is a poem called Half-Mast. It's political and may merit some explanation to get all the references.
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As you may have noticed, all the federal government buildings and many businesses and churches, as well, have had the flags down half-mast since former President Jimmy Carter's death.
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They were scheduled to continue to show respect in this manner through the inauguration on MLK day, Monday. Unfortunately, MLK Day is also Inauguration Day.
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There seems to be a problem with showing respect to two different presidents at the same time. Governor DeSantis has already ordered Florida flags to go back up to full mast on Monday.
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The poem also contains a reference to Nixon and his Watergate hearings, and how things panned out for him, in contrast to our current situation.
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There has also been much in the news about the presidential picks for various cabinet offices and heads of government agencies. Many picks have been fraught with scandal and questions of whether the candidate has the ability to do the job.
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Nonetheless, it looks like most of them will sail through their confirmation hearings, and we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
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At the same time, California, in the area around Los Angeles, is burning. I read a blurb about poor Dick Van Dyke, who is 99 years old, being carried out on a stretcher from his burning home.You may remember his performance in Mary Poppins, where he played, at least for the length of a musical number, a soot-covered chimney sweep.
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The second poem is called Nominalization, and may delight those who, like me, notice every grammatical error. Nominalization is the practice of attaching a suffix such as "ization" or "ication" to a perfectly good verb, and producing a noun. For example, people will talk of justification instead of about justifying, or mortification instead of mortifying.
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Nominalization is very common in corporate speak or academia, and seems to puff up the writer to appear more intellectual, while it simultaneously dries out each sentence, sucking the very life out of it. Not that I don't use such words all the time. This is just my poetic rant on the subject.
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Finally I have a poem commenting on the cold weather here in a most foreboding way. It is called A Cold New Year's in Florida. I wondered about the apostrophe but decided to leave it in, since I really mean New Year's Day, but, well, that didn't sound very poetic.
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The novel is slowly grinding forward. I did some research on Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose supposed work features in the story. I edited three chapters, and one of them twice, adding words everytime, as is my way.
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I managed since January 2nd to go from 67,654 words (345 pages double spaced) to 70,957 (361 double-spaced.) As I've said before, the goal for the first draft is 100k. I can almost see it from here.
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That is all the news from this penwoman at this time. Except I did notice a few writerly events on the horizon, one of which I might check out: Tropicon in St Augustine.
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I did buy a ticket, but the hotel in which the event takes place was a little too rich for my blood, so I'll have to decide between driving and getting a room somewhere else. An agent I follow on Instagram is supposed to be there, among other speakers.
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Should be interesting to hear her talk. Anyway, it's a few days in mid February, if you're interested. I would have loved to go to the Key West Literary Conference which just wrapped up, but that will have to wait till I at least have a book to sell!
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I'm also tempted by some travel opportunities, but that will be a tale for another time. Hope all is well with you and yours!
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If you know of anyone else who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, please forward it to them. They can sign up on my website, linked in the logo above, if they like it! The more the merrier!
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So Close and Yet So Far
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This essay discusses the Semiquincentennial celebration and compares it with Fourths of Years gone by.
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Drawing
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A poem on redistricting, the drawing of new districts to serve the ruling party's political purposes, with the blessing of the Supreme Court and with enthusiasm unchecked by either the people's will nor the State's Constitutional provisions.
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Attempt
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A poem describing the swirling emotions on and offline provoked by the attempted assassination of President Trump at the dinner for the press. Caveat: I do not doubt the attempt on his life was real. P.S. The photo is an attempt at beauty.
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Approaching May 1st, 2026, Anniversary of The Great Fire, Jacksonville, FL
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A poem about a very dry spring in Florida which calls to mind the terrible fire which consumed Jacksonville early in the 20th century.
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Smiles
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This poem analyzes the loss of reputation of the US in the eyes of its closest allies, and the attitude it projects, about that loss.
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