Snow. I have choice words for it over in my other journal. It’s hear again, and I think all of us are flashbacking to last year’s very bad winter, so it’s making Iowans cranky anew. Let’s hope for mild weather.
I finished Mark Twain’s Daughter, and one of my reader has already given me some positive feedback, for which I am grateful. The next couple of days were eaten up by weather, travel and my class reunion.
Twenty-five years ago, I graduated from a tiny school in Southern Iowa. I’ve been to most of my class reunions. They’ve actually been fun, especially when I realized, as a high school/junior high teacher myself, that NO ONE is responsible for their behavior, or secure in their character at that age. A great deal of forgiveness for about anything comes out of that realization.
Anyway, a few nuggets. The first one for you writers, and then I’ll hid them under a cut.
1. So, have you written that novel you’ve always wanted to write, someone asked? Sonya will be pleased to know that I explained all about Hulk Hercules, but what amused me is the assumption that somewhere lurking inside of every writer is ONE book that they will write. Is this the layman’s idea of the GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL? What about you? Have you written that novel you’ve always wanted to write?
People often don’t understand writing anyway. The professor part of my life they get, and they were pretty good with the childless part, especially after Bryon and I made some good jokes about it. But you know, writing. How do you explain that?
Stereotypically: I sit around in my pjs and fluffy slippers, eating oreos, punching down whatever I want on a page until I decide on a bigger concentration of oreos for lunch. Then I do some web surfing and email response, punch down some more random thoughts, decide it’s time to have a creative crisis and pop a couple of beers and grouse at my spouse/kids when they get home about how no one understands me. Of course, everything I write is gold the first time. That’s just my gift.
🙂
Other class reunion things more meaningful to me follow.
2. Hmmm….not bad, classmate, for looking like Mike Farrell in his last seasons of M*A*S*H.
If only you could have brought time referent Alan Alda with you. Still, I’ll take what I can get.
3. Marriage was not the winner at this year’s reunion. Many of us have been divorced. I’m not judgmental at all here. I was surprised by the number of friends and dates at number 25. Well, if you’re both not in wholeheartedly, don’t settle. Still, the statistics seemed mightily skewed. And again, an opportunity to be grateful for the Sweetest of Peas (TM).
4. It was a great treasure to see again the woman who acquitted herself with the grace NONE of the rest of us had in high school. What I said above about everyone making mistakes and not acquitting themselves well above does not apply here. I don’t think that Shari Munch has any idea how much I have come to admire her demeanor and abilities at that time in her life, and I don’t think she would see it as anything special. Which makes it all the more so.
5. One of the guys in the class is hanging out with fellow engineers and space enthusiasts, designing a space elevator in one guy’s garage. Okay, I guess the laymen in Scalzi’s novel are believable.
6. One of us can’t get over her high school years and actually talked about cliques from high school at the reunion. She was also drinking heavily. Gotta get past that. Gotta invest in your life. Gotta get some therapy if you can’t do either. And AA.
She identifies with me as an outsider from years ago, but we split waaaaay back in junior high when college prep turned out not to be her thing, and when she foreshadowed her alcoholism by getting REALLY LOUD. Years have clouded her perceptions. That’s when we left, when it looked like we would be targeted by an obnoxious drunk for the rest of the evening. Well, we’d already been there two hours, and the most important rule is leave them wanting more.
7. Important Southern Iowa dining tip: Bring vegetables with you. In your purse. No, iceberg lettuce isn’t a vegetable, and potatoes ARE, but a different kind. Bring some carrots, or broccoli, or something like that. You’ll be glad you did. If you want dessert, you might also slip some cake or pie in your compact.
I suppose I’d better be composing that letter for the Japanese Christmas cards, and then getting on to the Monday drill. I’ll be entertaining fantasies about green grass from about now until April.
Catherine
