Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A clearer head, pollwatching, and escaping the snake

My back is better today, although a nerve must have been pinched somewhere as my left arm is all pins and needles. I can live with that. I opted after I washed the cell phone to forgo any more Flexeril, and just take Motrin. Today, I don't know that I'll need anything.

I agreed to be a pollwatcher on Election Day. I went to the training last night, which was pretty basic. I'm all about preparation, though, and felt better about this since I went to the training. It was nice to see a woman there at the training I had not seen since I was one of her nurses during her cancer treatment several years ago. I also saw a man I just met at our new church this past Sunday. And I met a woman who was involved with financing a writing project I did earlier this year for a non profit.

Funny how politics unites various aspects of my life.

Speaking of writing, I picked up a copy of the magazine Poets & Writers at the public library and found some writing exercises to do. They are easy; they just require the doing. I told someone a while back that I want to write, but when I think I will sit down to do it, the laptop turns into a hissing snake and I run away. I'm trying to get past that. Having little projects like the one for the non profit has helped.

Reading ties into all of this. I've found myself reading much more. In the last few weeks I've read 5 or 6 books, which is incredible for me. Reading is always ruined for me when I think I must read, as for school, instead of reading for pleasure. It takes a couple of years to relearn the joy of reading. I must be at that point now. I've even reading authors I never heard of, such of Amy Hempel. It is good to stretch.

Ten years ago I saw a tinted photograph in an antique store. Judging from the dress of the people in it, I'd say it was made around the turn of the 20th century. There was a little boy on the porch railing in the foreground, and an elderly couple in the background. The man looked off to the side, while his wife looked directly into the camera, her face open and smiling. I loved that photograph, but didn't buy it in time. It inspired me to make up a story around the elderly couple, though. That tale has been in my head for years. I just need to write it down.

I actually wrote three pages yesterday. It felt good to play with the words and the structure. We'll see how this goes!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, my, washing the cell phone is definitely a "note to self" type of event, isn't it? Glad you're feeling better.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I'm so glad you're working on that story. I think we all need ways to express our creativity.