I just finished going through my year’s receipts to get my taxes prepared by my CPA. It always amazes me as to how expensive being a writer can be. The amount I spent on copies, postage, writing supplies, travel, and books astounded me. Once again, just for laughs, I asked myself the rhetorical question of why I subject myself to this brutal business of writing. I believe it’s because I truly do find happiness in writing.

I’m currently reading Erica Jong’s, Parachutes and Kisses, and as in all her books I’ve read so far, she has much to say about writing. On page 86, she talks of how Isadora’s writing is being crowded out by the mad rush of her life, by worries of making money, etc. She speaks of how a writer must find her/his center, and that can only be found within. She quotes Sebastien Chamfort, the noted conversationalist, aphorist, supporter and critic of the French Revolution who said: “Happiness is difficult to find within, impossible to find elsewhere.”

It’s taken for granted that writers should read, but when I find good thoughts like this, I see why I must read. I needed that thought, that reminder. So, I’ve resolved once again to settle down on my writing center, and really try to get some things done.

It’s the time of year when I must prepare taxes. I fill out a long form, so it means wading through my year of receipts and papers, organizing my claimed deductions by topic, and then getting it to my CPA to file. Tomorrow will be a long day, and it does take me at least whole day to complete my portion of the work. Yet, this work is a necessary part of the writing business.

I’ve looked in vain on the net for the origin of the phrase “the taxman cometh.” If any of my readers know, do write me at rickeyp@bayou.com and share that information with me. I’ve always been interested in the etymology of words and the origin of phrases. When I find where the phrase came from or who first said it, I’ll post it here.