Starting Something

Starting Something

“Shh! They’ll hear you.” Tanner shot back to Ron.

Ron lifted his shoulders and arms in question, he hadn’t said a word.

“Your feet!” Tanner whispered, “Watch where you step. You’re making more noise than an elephant!”

Ron looked at his feet, bewildered, “What do you mean?”

“Look, just watch where you step, watch me. Step on the soft squishy things like grass and moss, avoid sticks and gravel and things that make noise. And don’t clomp down your foot, set it down gently as you shift your weight...”

“Oh, I see, like this?” Ron whispered back taking a few careful steps.

“Yes, good, keep practicing.” Tanner started off.

“How did you learn this?” Ron whispered.

“I read it in books.”

“They write books about sneaking?”

“No, I read in in regular books. When they tell a story, they have to make it believable so if someone is sneaking through the woods they show it by saying things like ‘he moved carefully, stepping on the grass to avoid any sounds.’ I just read a lot.”

“Huh, I never liked reading, but I forgot it’s really stories. Maybe I’ll try it again.”

“Shhh, there it is!” The boys kept going till they got close enough to the girl’s camp houses to dump the bags of mice they had collected through an open window. Then they backed off to watch the show.

Years later, at a book signing for his third best seller, Ron White was asked how he got started writing.

He laughed, “You know,” he said, “it involved girls and mice and sneaking through the woods!”

That particular quote defined him for the rest of a long, illustrious career.