What is your favorite season of year? Why?

In the balance between mindfulness and overthinking, a few years back I realized that once August starts to close out, I hit a big creative stride.

For the longest time, decades even, I would create some of my most ambitious projects. Going back to 2008, I created the “Case files of the Ozarks Ghost Research Society” program. The buck list television show that I had been hellbent to get on the air, anywhere. The stars lined up on a whole lot of fronts and I did it.

2009, I created “Ozark Idols” to show that a variety show still had interest and relevance on local television. Smashing success.

2010, “Jim Buchanan’s Here, There and Everywhere” debuted as a local news and feature magazine type show that gave me the opportunity to reach out across the nation to connect and share stories to my local audience. It was a lot of fun.

2011, I revisited the OGRS property with “Explorations and Encounters”. That Paranormal / Urban Legend themed show petered out in preproduction as I myself was becoming more disillusioned with what I was doing with my career… yet I still had to scratch the itch.

Then from 2012 through 2020 every fall found me creating something loosely tied to those hits but I would loose interest and energy. Why? Because I had trapped myself in a couple of different mindsets. The primary was the “obligation loop” that no matter what it was I HAD to make sure to cater to the local audience. Never mind the fact that the viewership had changed and didn’t really give a shit about my tired ideas that I myself was tired of. But, I could still do it. But not necessarily should have done.

Complacency. Bottom line.

Then the planet was broken. The fires stirred and I knew something had to give with me inside of my own purpose and sense of fulfillment . But it had to be useful. Hence the spark of the Spark was born.

I share all of this as a reflection brought on by this prompt of my favorite time of year and why? The obvious having been stated, the underlying truth for me however is that I’ve set my self up in another trap for same said reasons:

“I can but I can do it better then.”

Meaning: I’ve built a block in my own subconscious that no matter what else’s may happen the creative power station that is Fall for me will return. Then. Not now.

However, with the works that I’m doing now force me to embrace the spark everyday. And I do. No matter how small a step may be taken. I still step.

But come Fall? It’ll be a banging time!

Jim 06/11/2025