Writing – Page 2 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

How do you pronounce your name?

July 12, 2022

Are you as fortunate as I and have an easy name to pronounce? Or do people sometimes fail to correct it because it is so simple? If you open your eyes and are familiar with the English language. I have been called Kissinger, Kingsinger, even Kaiser. It is of Germanic origin but that is stretching it a little much.

At a speech tournament in High School, I wrote my name on the blackboard for the Judge. I also had my school code and speaker number written there. We used only our last names. My name showed Kensinger. I used the appropriate spacing and only used capital on the first letter. After three preliminary rounds, our speech coach came to me and asked why I had not given my speech in the second round.

Another student from our school had spoken after me and was in the room for my speech. He or she confirmed that I had been in the correct room and gave my speech after the person listed before me. Mrs. Wiggins returned to the counting room and returned with the information that the Judge had recorded my name as Singer on the ballot. When questioned he replied that he thought my first name was Ken.

My Dad and his older brother Raymond worked together for around thirty years. Dad was a truck driver and Raymond was the dock superintendent. When I was in my twenties and working in sales, I called on the company. My Dad had taken disability, but Raymond was still there.

As I was talking to the truck mechanic, I mentioned that Ken was my uncle. I knew this man had been a friend of my Dad. He looked at me and asked who my father was. Raymond also had an older brother. I replied, “Evan”. “I don’t know him” was the reply. When I mentioned Dad had driven one of their trucks for almost thirty years. he looked at me quizzically and said, “Oh, you mean little brother.”

I have had similar problems with my first name. I receive letters for Chas Kensinger from time to time. Chas is an abbreviation for Charles. I prefer to be called Chuck and have used that name since entering college. A new employee at the company I worked for answered the phone and proceeded to tell the person on the line that Charles did not work there. He received an earful from my mother because she did not like my using Chuck. “You do have a Charles there and you call him Chuck which is not his name.” I apologized for her outburst and was told he did not know Chuck was a nickname for Charles.

I met myself while I was working that job. A gentleman named Charles Kinsinger came in and when I wrote up the ticket for the items, he was buying I asked how to spell his last name. He told me and I took out my business card and handed it to him and told him he was the guy that made people spell my name wrong.

If your name is more difficult than Jones or Smith, I sympathize with you. The more syllables the more difficult it is to spell and pronounce.

Are you a reader?

July 5, 2022

For those who know me personally, you are aware that I am an avid reader. My Goodreads account shows the number of books I have read for five years. I joined that online group in 2017 and read ten books. My goal was three volumes per month. I was working and failed to meet my goal. In 2018 I had no goal. In 2019 I set my goal at twelve. Because I retired in the spring, by the end of the year, I completed 26. I doubled that amount the next year for my goal and finished 76. Last year I set the amount I wanted to read at 100. I surpassed that number. This year my goal is again 100.

Next year I will set my sights on publishing my own books. I have five that I am currently writing. One is finished and has been published on Facebook in small sections. My goal is to complete a shorter volume to publish on Amazon followed by the first one which is my memoir. By this time next year, I hope to have at least four books on Amazon and other e-book sites. These will all be self-published.

I am not sure which ones will be ready. I have no problems with writer’s block. As I am working on a manuscript, if I have a block I jump to another idea. That explains the number in process.

Are you a writer? Or are you content with reading what others create? My desire to write began in junior high school. While my lifework changed from writing in college, I have maintained that desire to record thoughts and feelings. Much of what came from my pen was used in classes I have taught at church.

I was laid off during the downturn in 2009. As I looked for a new job, I discovered a new website called Examiner.com. They were looking for writers. I applied and began writing columns for them. After a few years, they went out of business. My desire to write had been energized. Some of those articles were the basis for Doulos, my memoir.

I created this website to replace that means of sharing my work. I want to continue with the process. My books are something I desire to contribute to the reading public. If you are not a reader but just a scanner, you may not consider what writers produce as worth investing in. For those of you who are writers or wish to share your own stories, some of the things I will be publishing will be techniques for improving your ability to pass on your knowledge, stories, and creations.

I enjoy a good story. Whether I am reading, writing, or sharing it. Subscribe to this page and you will be e-mailed as each new article is posted. Be watching for my premium content which will cost you a little. The annual subscription will increase as the content multiplies. This will enable you to watch as my books are written and prepared for publication. Thanks for your support.

Write what you want

April 20, 2022

In the world of authors, there are many sayings. “Write what you know” is one. “Write what you are passionate about” is another. Many years ago, I gave advice to a young person who wanted to be a writer. All I said was “the only way to become a writer is to write.” I believed that then and I believe it today.

Many things can be used to make a living. I made mine for over forty years as a purchasing agent, salesman, manager, inventory clerk, and a number of other occupations. These are vocations. Writing is my avocation.

An avocation is a second interest sometimes referred to as a hobby. This second job of mine has been part of my life for over sixty years. I have followed the advice I gave that young lady. I write. What do I create? Whatever I wish to. Sometimes it is for publication and often it is for me.

I have also been asked where my ideas come from. The simple answer is everywhere. The TV, radio, billboards, conversations I hear, or even standing on my deck and watching the geese fly over have inspired columns or stories. I also read my Bible and other books every day. These give me inspiration for my writing.

My thoughts are put into words and recorded on paper, on my phone, or on my computer. At other times I have words or ideas that are directly conveyed to others. This can be on an individual basis or in a group setting. I present thoughts, ideas, and knowledge through speeches or classes. Contact me, if you would like to schedule a time for me to speak to a group.

One of my continuing projects is to encourage others to tell their own story. I believe that we all have something to share with others. This is often the motivation for a person to become a writer. They’ve a story to tell and it must be communicated.

For some, this is done through words. Others use pictures either photographs, paintings, or drawings. For many it is music. Songs are often poetry set to music. I am not a poet or a musician. These are only mediums that can be availed upon for communication. Videos or movies are other ways to express one’s gift to their loved ones.

Find your way. Use it to give your thoughts to those who need them. I will begin publishing a study I have been working on for years. I call it “Your Story, Your Way.” Be watching for this in future columns.

Grim but not a fairy tale

February 9, 2022

By Chuck Kensinger

The lane looked deserted. It wasn’t. She would be here soon. These appointments always happened. He did not know why people would be in these secluded places. He showed up because of a feeling. Someone was always there.

That wasn’t true. They were not all secluded. There were the times in the train station and the mall. Dozens, if not hundreds of wandering humans. Some going somewhere specific. Others, just window shopping. The gentleman that fell on the tracks that day. An elderly lady with her granddaughter in the dress shop.

He had been outside houses, apartment buildings, or businesses. He could not physically see those clients. He knew they were there. He experienced them. They had feelings, emotions, and sensations. The heart attacks. The intruders that chanced to be discovered. A mother that dropped her child. A husband that did not mean to hit his wife with the ladder.

Tonight, was like a story from a book. Here he was waiting for Linda Stephenson. He always knew the names. He did not want to take them from their families and friends. That was Grim’s job. He was a reaper. He wished he were a messenger or what were called angels. He would like to be able to say something or help.

His duty was to pick them up and take them to the place. The fire. No, they did not burn. Some of them seemed nice. Others deserved what they received. The one that had killed the couple that he did not transport. That was for Jesus. They were His. He took the murderer to the fire after the cops had shot him.

Linda was walking down the road. She had gotten out of a car around the corner. Her date had been angry when she opened the door and stepped out. She was walking to a nearby house. She wanted to get away from him. There was his car now. He never braked.

Grim picked up her soul and left her body on the road. She did not realize what had happened. She would soon. It only took a second or less to be at the fire. Then she would know that she had missed her chance.

Writers of the Week

November 30, 2021

Do you have a favorite author? This week we celebrate the birthdays of many writers that we have read for years. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and many other books were written by C.S. Lewis who was born on November 29^thin 1898. Christian nonfiction and fantasy may not be your cup of tea.

If you prefer older classical fiction, Louisa May Alcott, the author of the Little Women and Borrower Series may be what you like. She shared the 29^th with Lewis but was born 66 years before him.

One of my favorite authors is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in 1835 on November 30^th. That makes him a contemporary of Louisa May. You don’t know his books and stories? You may know him by the pseudonym he used. Mark Twain was taken from his days working on a riverboat on the Mississippi. Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court may be one that you read in school.

Beginning on Wednesday, the first of December We have Woody Allen Who was born in 1935. Mere Anarchy, Without Feathers, and Getting Even are three of his books. Yes, he was a writer before he began to make movies. He has had more jobs than even I.

Elizabeth Berg was born on the 2^nd of December along with George Saunders, and Ann Patchett. They were born in 1948, 1958, and 1963 respectively. Berg’s first book, Family Traditions, was published in 1992. Oprah chose Open House as a book club selection in 2000. In 2020 she published her memoir I’ll Be Seeing You.

George Saunders won his first National Magazine Award in 1994 for The 400 Pound CEO. Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, and Esquire are three of the magazines that published his award-winning pieces.

Ann Patchett was first published in 1992. That first book, The Patron Saint of Liars, was followed by The Magician’s Assistant and My Three Fathers among others. The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020.

Joseph Conrad is best Known for Lord Jim. His birthday is December 3^rd, 1857. The Secret Agent was first published in 1907 and became a movie in 1996. This was the second film based on this book. The first was Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage released in 1936.

There are other famous Americans who were born during the last two days of November and the first few days of December. One that was not a writer was Walt Disney. His cartoons and his company’s many movies based on literary works are the reason I feel mentioning his birthday on December 5 of 1901 is not out of place here. I hope the reminder of these authors and their works will inspire you to read something that you have not before or pick up an old favorite and see if it is as good as you remember.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: Writing