 For Authors: January 11, 2017 Issue [#8076] |
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This week: Observations Whilst Standing in the Door Edited by: Fyn  
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My fascination with letting images repeat and repeat - or in film's case 'run on' - manifests my belief that we spend much of our lives seeing without observing. ~~ Andy Warhol
I love the line of Flaubert about observing things very intensely. I think our duty as writers begins not with our own feelings, but with the powers of observing. ~~ Mary Oliver
Anybody who dedicates himself to exploring the human condition, there's always a detached eye that's watching. In any situation, a little part of me is observing it, to see if there are any raw materials to create something else later. ~~ Oscar Isaac
The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties. ~~ Graham Greene
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Somewhere in the craziness of Christmas morning, while casually tossing together the entire dinner with all the fixings, I decided to bake some bread for the feast, rather than tossing some rolls into the oven to warm them up. Dough was methodically punched, it proceeded to rise to the occasion and was summarily deposited into a loaf pan and plunked into the oven with the perfect timing to be ready just about the time the food would hit the table.
Then, I forgot all about it. Until I didn't and then realized that it 'should' have been removed from the oven several long minutes before it actually was. Most of it was fine. The top was a beautiful golden brown. The bottom was pretty well toasted! So rather than slicing it from top to bottom, I cut the loaf in half and sliced it sideways from the top down. The bottom two pieces were left on the counter. It was inevitable that someone would comment on the odd slicing of the bread. As it happened, it was my sister-in-law. I told her that she was getting the best part (the top-crust) because, in my mind she was the 'upper crust' or the guest of honor. I 'thought' I'd covered my burned bread dilemma quite well, except that no one knew what I was talking about!
So I explained about how, once upon a time, (back in the days of yore) the cooks in the castle's kitchens had a separate oven for bread that was along side the main fireplace. Coals and cinders were shoveled into this square box to warm the oven and then scraped out before the loaves were inserted. The finished loaves usually had bits of charred wood and ash in it, so bread was sliced length-wise top to bottom with the honored guests receiving the top part and the servants getting the bottom of the loaf. Thus this is where the term 'upper crust' came from to define the honored guests - usually the rich landowners, or royalty. My husband just shook his head and smiled. He's used to my storage of odd-ball minutia. My daughter dug into the bread basket and grabbed a piece from the middle and said the middle was fine for her. The bottom crust? The birds had no complaints!
Our Christmas was very 'low key' this year. That phrase comes possibly from music - the lower keys are softer, mellower and less flashy sounding, often forming the harmony or backing. Or, possibly, from photography as in low lighting, and in the background - quiet and forming the frame for the main subject - as in the reason we were together in the first place. No 'over the top' gifts, no scrambling for the newest games or gizmo. To frame that phrase, we didn't go broke (or crazy) finding an egg-encased critter or newest (old) gaming system. People actually were seriously hurt in stampedes for both. In other words, to go back to WWI, we didn't come bursting out of the trenches - going over the top - to find these things. We chose not to get in harm's way.
I spent a lot of time this season, quietly observing people - kids, shoppers, parents customer service reps. I think it was one of the nicest, politest, most gracious seasons ever. Politically, folks seemed to be at each other's throats, but when the holidays came into the mix, people turned gentler, at least for a few moments. Interesting conundrum of how folks act, react and interact.
Met an amazing Santa. No red suit, driving a pick-up. I came out of the grocery store and it was snowing. Big, fat, fluffy snowflakes were spiraling downwards in the lights of the mercury vapor lights in the parking lot. It was beautiful and I said, gleefully, "It's snowing!" The man driving by, complete with suspenders and a red plaid flannel shirt went "Ho ho ho!" in a perfect Santa voice. Perfect. Better yet? Saw him again a few days later with humongous clear plastic bags in the back of his pick-up, loaded with toys that he was bringing to deliver to some kids in a shelter nearby. Told ya he was Santa!
2017. Love the 'odd' years. They always seem more magical to me, the years when anything is possible and wonderful things occur. Forty-some-odd years ago I was at a Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin and a fortune teller told me that 2017 would be my best year ever. Waited a long time. Sure hope she was right!
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Quick-Quill  writes: There are many Christmas memories in my 60+ years. The ones that mean the most to me are the family gathering around the tree to open presents. Going to the Christmas pageants. Now I'm in charge of some of the drama parts of our Christmas musical dramas. Most of all is the reminder of what Christmas really means. As I see more denigration of faith in our land, I wonder what will happen if they really try to do away with christmas? Our Children aren't allowed to honor the real meaning of Christmas in school. Its relegated to church and some concerts. Will that be taken away also?
I wonder what our world would be like if there was no Christmas and God never sent his son? What if it were like "Is a Wonderful Story"? I'm sure a lot worse.
Osirantinous  says: Lovely NL, Fyn, especially reading the memories you have of the season. The purple Christmas would make a wonderful children's story, you know! I wage a war sometimes with myself over backstory (ie writing too much of it) but memories brought on by something like Christmas or a particular smell etc would allow for a teensy weensy piece of 'life' without rambling on and on. I will need to try it out more and more because, as you say, characters have a whole life outside of their story and for readers to feel they're real we need to bring in that life. But not ramble, like I've done here!
the Wordy Jay  comments: Thank you for sharing your Christmas stories with us! It's my favourite time of the year too! 
Your heart-warming personal accounts serve as a reminder that no matter how much Christmas is being commercialised or politicised, the true Beauty of the Season can never be defined by the prejudices of others but only by what's already written in our hearts. Merry Christmas, Fyn!
Tadpole1  sniffs: Hello Fyn,
I had sniffles all through your letter. It was beautiful. Thank you for sharing a part of you.
Smiles and a very Merry Christmas! ~Tadpole1 |
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