Times, They Are a Changin’

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Welcome to this issue of our newsletter. If you’re new to this madness, many of my readers suggested Kay and I practice a rather interesting lifestyle and asked that I share some of it. Your wish is my command!

Yes, we’ve sold our motorhome, our only home for the past few years. As I mentioned in an early article, we bought a townhouse in the Southeastern Minnesota city of Rochester, home of the world-renown Mayo Medical Center (we call it “the mothership”), and we’re doing what we came here to do.

Since January 2025, we’ve spent a good deal of time at doctors’ appointments, in operating rooms, and hospital rooms, preparing for and completing numerous surgical procedures, not to mention recovering from them. Kay had a shoulder and one knee replaced in 2025, and her other knee replaced, along with no fewer than four spinal surgeries since February of this year. I’ve had cataracts removed and LenStar implants in both eyes.

It’s been a mighty intense 21 months (so far) for both patient and caregiver. Now, however, we hope to have all that behind us, other than continuing to recover, of course, which has impacted us not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, as well. Still is. We now look forward to no new or existing personal or family health issues in the near future. But at this age, well….

So what’s the same, now that we’re living in a house instead of a bus? Short-duration trips by car and hotel, the ongoing arduous recovery process notwithstanding.

Last summer we made two lengthy (miles-wise) trips with our Jeep, one east to witness our granddaughter Ionee graduate from Michigan State University. We then ventured in the opposite direction a few weeks later to South Dakota’s Black Hills and on to North Dakota’s Badlands (Teddy Roosevelt National Park).

Damn-near killed us! But we prevail.

After Christmas this year, we’ll visit friends in Albuquerque, NM, and then on to Tucson, AZ to stay in our favorite RV resort, The Voyager (https://voyagerrv.com), for three months.

But instead of living in our 43-foot bus, we’re renting a “park model” (small mobile home). While there, we’re planning a side trip to Southern California to visit the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and possibly Disneyland. If the entire state isn’t engulfed in fire, or earthquakes haven’t swallowed up our intended destinations.

Then in April next year, after we leave Tucson, we’ll visit friends or relatives in Las Cruces, NM, Georgetown, TX, Fort Smith, AR, and Fairfield, IA. Then back to MN. Kay has us staying put for a couple of months before we once again head east (in the ole Jeep) to Mackinaw Island, then to visit my sister in the Cleveland area, a dear friend in Bay City, MI where we lived for four years while I was in the US Coast Guard, and finally a few weeks in Washington, D.C., where we hope to seriously haunt the Smithsonian Museum.

Next fall (2027)? Back to Tucson for the winter. Fall of 2028? Maybe Florida for a month or two.

So, even though we no longer own a motorhome, wanderlust has not entirely eluded us (Kay, especially).

I hope to be invited back to the Tucson Festival of Books again in 2027 after a successful appearance in March 2025. This is the second largest such festival in the United States, and convenes on the University of Arizona campus each March for a crazy long weekend! This is my favorite speaking engagement and book-signing event.

Yes, our dance card is indeed full. We feel so fortunate to still be able to stay this active. Kay continues to be an extraordinary travel planner!

Kay is looking forward to playing Bocce Ball once again, and I’ll finish the construction of a couple of ambitious Native American style flute projects, and I look forward to once more performing at flute circles. I’m hoping to also continue my study of Spanish and re-join the wonderful writing group at The Voyager.

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I continue to write and draw and paint, of course, with a new novel and a personal memoir both published this year. That brings my total to 21 titles, although the two oldest are now out of print.

One of my newer passions in the last few years is moving meditation through the practice of Tai Chi. Some consider this an ancient Chinese physical art form. This is in addition to our on/off-again practice of TM (Transcendental Meditation). I won’t bore you with that here, but Tai Chi keeps my joints flexible and the ole body a few years younger than its chronological age. If you’re curious about Tai Chi, click HERE to see the style I’m currently studying.

Now, back to visual art, what do you think of my semi-abstract watercolor portrayal of a rabbit in the wild (16″x19″ on Arches cold-press 140-pound paper)? Attribution to British watercolorist Jean Haines for her brilliant reference photo:

Being commissioned this Fall by successful author, Ella Dominguez to create a handful of original drawings for a special edition of her new epic dark romantasy (romantic fantasy), Born of Fire, was wonderful validation that my work isn’t totally a solitary therapeutic exercise.

Every detail in these drawings, including their overall “gritty supernatural vibe” represents a story detail, even the white spots on the protagonist’s skin (vitiligo), both before and after she transmogrifies into a dragon. Not my usual cuppa, but hey, this was a fascinating diversion. And Ella is an amazing author.

Wild, huh? I’ll let the drawings speak for themselves:

I’ve included a more complete ‘gallery’ of my humble artistic efforts over the years within the Art Works tab on this site. Visit if you dare.

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Likewise, the poet in me cannot be silenced, it seems. I awoke the other day before the sun exposed herself, suddenly mindful of my age (damn-near 77), and rushed to my MacBook, just in time. The following four quatrains gushed out onto my digital page. 

Without much effort and very little revision (surprisingly), I gave birth to this irregular dactylic tetrameter with some lines ending in irreverent spondees as a nod to all you intrepid seekers of slant rhymes, lumpy rhythm, amorous alliteration, insidious assonance, and other boisterous sound devices, not to mention engendered personification and circuitous metaphors that hint at not-so-subtle symbolism. But you shouldn’t have to care about any of that. Just read it.

But if you are curious about this ridiculous lexicon that precisely describes poetic verse, check out my book, The Poetic Detective. It can be yours for just three bucks. By the way, this little book is as a result of a challenge levied by an acquaintance who is a best-selling author. He said to me, “I dare you to write a really good book that nobody will buy.” This is that book! And people who buy it seem to like it.

So, what of this verse, y’all? Too… “on the nose”?

TIME—A MERCILESS MISTRESS

by GK Jurrens

She surges forward as if imploding with impatience
To taunt us with clues to her infuriating complaisance.
Creases and folds in her fabric, she wears
the hint of her hidden and tantalizing fare.

There is no hope of seducing her with trickery.
Not even beliefs born of a dogmatic delivery
can tempt her to show more than she’s daringly willing,
not even when you offer her a bucket full of shillings.

Her agenda is clear for we slaves of her bidding,
as we bow to her whims even though we’re unwilling.
It’s not for us to peek down her gown or up her hem.
She remains a delicious mystery to her unwilling condemned.

So, we forge into unknowns, we acolytes dismissed,
expecting an eternity, but receiving daily gifts.
We who devour each morsel with gritty gratitude
cherish our affair with this mistress, so very shrewd.

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Hey, just a quick final reminder. If you read any of my stuff (or that of any other author, for that matter), remember, authors live or die by reviews, especially these days with all the online stores (like Amazon).

No reviews means either readers didn’t react at all to our work (I shudder at that heinous notion), or worse, they just couldn’t be bothered to take a few minutes to write a brief reaction to the work we creative types slave over for you.

So… please bother to be bothered? Write a short (or long) review. If you’re wondering “where do I write a book review?” here are a simple set of steps to do so. This works for any book you might read:

To leave a review directly on Amazon, here are the steps:

1. Bring up Amazon.com in a browser on your computer (easier than on a phone)
2. In the search field near the top of the window, type your author’s name and the title of the book (e.g., gk jurrens trouble with thinking) and hit enter.
3. Click on the book’s cover image to bring up its sales page.
4. Scroll down that page (quite a ways) until you see Customer reviews.
5. Below that, you’ll see Write a customer review. Click on that.
6. Type in your review of the book
7. In the window entitled What should other customers know, type your review (1-2 short paragraphs should serve well)
8. In the window below that, provide a few short words to title your review
9. Re-read your review and title to ensure no typos and then click on the yellow Submit button. 

If this doesn’t work for you, email your author directly. They’ll appreciate it, I promise. My email is gjurrens@gkjurrens.com if you want to email me any comments. Thanks in advance.

So that’s where to write a review. If you’re still not quite sure how to write a review, click HERE for some additional guidance if you need it. Hey! I’m here to help you help out your favorite author!

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Thanks for being here. Later.

And remember to vote!

Gene