Hear Here
I had missed a couple of meetings with my writers critique group. When I did show up at Hardees close to 7 PM on the third Thursday of the month, I noticed an unfamiliar woman waiting alone in the meeting room.
I took a seat, smiled and introduced myself.
"You're in the writers group?" the woman asked.
I nodded.
She looked puzzled. "This writers group?"
"Yes," I said. “You must be new. What are you working on?"
"I'm the committee chairperson."
"Committee chairperson?" Wow. I had only missed a couple of meetings and, in that short time, our small group had certainly become official. "What do you write?"
"A ten speed."
"Excuse me?"
The woman leaned forward. "We're talking about The Girl Scout Riding Competition, aren't we?"
"No." I grinned. "I was talking about writing." Her expression grew dubious. "You know—pen and paper?"
"Oh, writing!" The woman sighed and leaned back in the seat. "I should write a book. You wouldn't believe what I've been through. Just last week..." And so on.
My fellow critique group arrived. Because of a conflict in scheduling, we relinquished the room to The Girl Scout Riders.
"Happy riding," I said.
"Happy writing," the woman said.
---The End---
Okay. The execution needs work, but the story is genuine.
The moral? What someone says may not be what you hear. Always get important words in riding.
Jack's Shit
Remember Jack, from Jack and The Beanstalk? As children, we admired him. He was brave, daring, adventurous. Our hero!
Yet, what if the story had been written from another point of view ... say, Jack's mother?
That kid would have been grounded for life. "Boy, I told you not to go off half-cocked, slaying giants and believing stupid crap from strangers. What's the matter with you? I ought to whip your butt with this broom."
Granted, a similar scenario did take place. But let's bring the story up close and personal. Jack's mother, you can be certain, had much, much more to say. "Beans. I'm sick of beans. And magical? Where do you get such idiocy? From your father, no doubt. Where in this story is he, anyway?"
From the way I heard the tale, Jack did nothing whatsoever wrong. He snuck from the house, climbed the stalk, broke into the giant's home, stole, disobeyed his mother...
Jack's poor mother. "You climbed what? What the hell were you thinking?"
Perspective. Each character has his or her own take on situations. If you ask me, Jack should be out chopping, pruning, stacking that stalk and eating beans until they sprout from his ears. I wouldn't tolerate his shit. Mischievous scoundrel.
No offense, of course, to the original author.
Picky About Smoke We all know smoking is bad for us. With that out of the way, let me tell you what happened one day when I stopped at the gas station/quick shop/pizza parlor and food deli to buy a pack of cigarettes. Since I'm working on quitting (cough-cough) and they say it's easier to do so if you switch brands, I asked the man behind the counter for a pack of GPC Menthol 100s. He searched around and reached for a pack of GPC regular 100s. "No, Sir," I said. "May I have menthol?" "Menthol regulars?" "Menthol 100s." He searched again. "Menthol light 100s?" "No, Menthol regular 100s," I said. "Full flavor." "Hmm..." he said. "I don't see those." "Okay, never mind." I would have to go back, just this once, to my usual brand. "I'll take Salem 100s." The man moved over to the Salem section. "Salem regulars?" "No, 100s," I said. "Salem light 100s? Don't see regular 100s." Maybe an omen? "That's fine," I said. "I'll take the lights." Picky smokers have so many options these days. Did you know they could actually sell flavored cigarettes now? Chocolate, strawberry ... I won't go there. ~~~ In April 2007, I discovered an easier way to take a break from cigarettes. Curious? Let me know.
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