In the summer of 2007 I noticed an obituary for the mother of a classmate of mine. Her mother was a good friend of my mother and a few weeks later I attended the memorial that the children held to honor her life. The afternoon was filled with many impressions. A few weeks later I began an 8-week writing workshop at UNC-Asheville in the Great Smokies Writing Program. I wrote about that memorial…over and over and over. In a workshop you read each other’s work, critique it gently, re-write, and start the process over.
In the summer of 2008 I lost my own mother. My friends and I are just at that age. Here is LIGHTHOUSE.
In case you haven’t heard, I’m back in college. Yes, I know. “What’s the point?” That’s the most common response, either spoken out loud or transmitted by body language and poorly veiled surprise. That”s ok, I understand. But it doesn’t matter because I am absolutely loving it. It’s all online, the work completed primarily in my bathrobe, and the self-confidence and practice that I am gaining to support my writing efforts is proving to be priceless. Check out the UNCG Bachelor of Liberal Arts program, all online.
So, the course is “Contemporary Short Stories” and the assignment was to find a childhood photo and “mine it for memories” in one or two pages. “Sturdy” is my response to that prompt.
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Sturdy
The word that comes to mind when I look at these children is “sturdy”. Oversized shirts and pants of strong, durable fabric offer room for the quick, energetic growth of their sturdy bodies. They stand erect, all eyes forward, inquisitive, in good chunky leather shoes. The word seems right to me because I know these children. They have proven to be sturdy indeed. Read the essay>>
If you are an NPR-lover, you are already familiar with “This I Believe”. If not, visit www.thisibelieve.org and browse through a fantastic selection of essays on personal belief by the famous and not so famous.
Read my own “This I Believe” essay here or listen to the audio below.
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It’s supposed to snow tomorrow in Western North Carolina. I hope it does. When we were kids here it snowed a lot, but with global warming, our weather has become more like Western Oregon, lots of rain. The rain is good, keeps the grass green, but snow is just special. What makes it so? Here is my best guess. Snow before Dawn
In the summer of 2007 I noticed an obituary for the mother of a classmate of mine. Her mother was a good friend of my mother and a few weeks later I attended the memorial that the children held to honor her life. The afternoon was filled with many impressions. A few weeks later I began an 8-week writing workshop at UNC-Asheville in the Great Smokies Writing Program. I wrote about that memorial…over and over and over. In a workshop you read each other’s work, critique it gently, re-write, and start the process over.
