I planned to send that story off for publication at a traditional publisher. I even got some positive feedback and recommendation for some minor edits before acceptance. My dream was going to come true. See that period there? That one after what should have been a joyous exclamation? Yeah. That was the "depression". I couldn't be assed to do the rewrites. I couldn't motivate myself to send it back for review. I couldn't take the time to follow up on the inquiries. I hadn't written a short story in months. The longer stories languished in a few short notes on my computer. I went from writing two novel length books a year, even while working, to not even a few shorts no matter how much time I had to work on it. Retirement came and went.

And then, one day, after months of no pay and doing nothing about it, I drove to Tucson with my son for a last visit with a VA doctor before I could start receiving a pension.