Joycelyn…the Mysterious “J”

I want to take a little more time out from visiting some of the great New Mexico locales highlighted in THE BISTI BUSINESS to talk a little about the “J” who sometimes appears in my blog posts. She accompanied me on the trip to Valles Caldera, which was the subject of three posts in November 2012. 

I met Joycelyn Campbell in a writing class at what was then the Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute (now Central New Mexico College) in 2007. At the end of the class, the Instructor, Ruth Brown Jimenez, offered to meet with some of us on a regular basis to discuss our work. Once the group of three former students and our instructor was up and going, Ruth dropped out and left the rest of us to continue. Thus, a critique group was born. The group expanded, contracted, and eventually was left with two…Joycelyn and me. For those who wonder why I refer to her as “J” both in writing and to her face, let me simply say she is quick to correct anyone who calls her Jocelyn (as opposed to Joycelyn), so to avoid unforced errors, she instantly became J to me. Fortunately, she does not object to being referred to as an initial because her companion of thirty years was a man who went by R.C.

J is a woman of many skills. In the first place, she knows her own mind, which is not true of many of us. She is a better writer than I am, as well as a better critiquer (have I coined a word here?), so I get the better end of the bargain in that department. She is experienced in many different fields, including time as a substance abuse counselor and more importantly (to me, at any rate), she has been employed for a number of years in a private investigator’s office. Therefore, when BJ Vinson wanders off the field, she is quick to rein him back in.

These days, J prefers to devote her writing skills to blogging, and your experience will be enriched if you will check out the following:

           www.ninepaths.com which explores the “Highways and Byways of the Enneagram”

           www.givemeadaisy.com which she uses to explore creativity with the key words: Read * Write * Look * Listen * Create

           www.farthertogo.com promoting “meaning in midlife and beyond.”

           www.youcouldbeblogging.com– her commercial “hands-on help to get your Blogger or WordPress blog up and running” site.

J is responsible for what I consider to be the attractive and professional look of this Don Travis blog site. I highly recommend her to anyone who needs professional assistance in setting up either a web site or a blog.

Please, please check out some of her blogs so I can share this talented, creative, and interesting woman (I would say lady, but she would take offense) with my readers.

Next week: Back to THE BISTI BUSINESS. That's a promise.

New posts are published at 6:00 a.m. each Thursday.