About the author
Dale C. Deffenbaugh
Writing, unlike spelling, has been a lifelong interest. Since childhood I have written descriptions of nature, trips, interesting persons, and story fragments. Most of these have been lost along the way, but some exist in my note file and will contribute to, or perhaps detract from future work.
In my professional career, the application of computers to business and human endeavor, I have written successful business documents of many types, from project and business plans to business life cycle evaluations to requests for proposal for very large projects in business and government. Now that I am semi-retarded - ah, retired, I have time to enjoy creating written scraps, unraveled pieces, and melted crumbs from the dungeons of my mind. Sometimes they can be forced into coherency.
I enjoy hobbies like photography, fishing, hiking, travel and site seeing, theatre and concerts, debating, and social interaction with those smarter and more successful than I. This always allows a wide range of candidates.
Many of these activities are shared with my four children and seven grandchildren when I can arrange to visit them in their scattered locations.
Jokes and puns, laughter, and sarcasm are brain food for me. I can be the brunt of the joke or spear someone else. I can be formidable in debate, or crash and burn in insecurity.
I define writing as a combination of art and science. Perhaps this comes from forty years in the computer business - also equal parts art and science.
In the development of computer applications, we have two basic processes. The first is called top down, wherein the high level outline for the project is developed first, then each task is defined and fleshed out in hierarchical fashion.
The second is called bottom up, wherein the individual reports or required answers are defined first, then the tree of data and processing to meet the requirement is developed.
My writing style is a whipsaw combination of both. I often start a story with a very high level mental diagram of the plot and look around for scenes and characters to build into the fabric. Or, sometimes stories evolve from the image of a character in my mind, or of two or more characters and how they interact. Sometimes stories start from a scene or scenario. I then will build from both top and bottom like an inept bridge builder - hoping for a meeting in the middle.
I require humor in all aspects of my life, and most appreciate those of my friends who also enjoy mental jousting. For me, humor is like salt in food. A bit will enhance either sweetness or savory. Too much will ruin any flavor. None leaves food flat and tasteless. In my opinion, humor has the same affect on life.
This is the real character that inhabits my mind. Descended from a life of discipline and hard work, and reduced to a purveyor of deceptive illogic and titillating text.
Thanks for listening, or reading, or just staying awake . . .