Glenda Bookworm Tells The Inside Story

Glenda Bookworm Tells The Inside Story
by Marilyn Mackenzie




Hi all. Glenda Bookworm here. I reside within the bookshelves of the StoryMaster and StoryMistress. One day, though, I realized all the books were gathering dust. StoryMaster and StoryMistress were seated in front of these things that looked like TV screens, but they weren’t. Their fingers pounded away at something that reminded me of the typewriters of the writers of old, but they weren’t. Being a curious Bookworm (all of us are, you know, that’s why we reside in bookshelves and read the Classics), I wandered cautiously across the study. What I discovered was quite curious, quite curious indeed.

Those screens in front of the StoryMistress and StoryMaster spewed words, much like books. Curious. I sat atop that screen thing observing the StoryMaster, then leaned down to see what was so engrossing. He flipped through "pages" (I guess they are pages…they look something like pages from a book) about something called Web Site Development and Maintenance. I had no idea what that was about. It must have been an unpleasant topic, or a boring one. I’m not sure. But I noticed the only sounds coming from his mouth were grumblings. As I wondered about that, the StoryMistress let out the loudest guffaw I’d ever heard.

StoryMistress was laughing so hard, that I thought she’d take a tumble. Being a curious Bookworm (you know, we all are), I had to find out what was funny. Her screen thing must have had a different kind of message. I wiggled and slithered closer, and sat atop her screen. As I leaned down, I discovered the answer to something that has bothered many folks.

You have to understand that the StoryMaster and StoryMistress have created some kind of book thingie that will supposedly never end. They’ve gathered some writers together who all look at screens and click their fingers across things that look like typewriters (but they aren’t). Every day new writers join their group; every day new chapters are added to the screen. Pretty neat, huh? But that’s not the secret.

I guess as the Master and Mistress got this book thingie going, they got tired of reading everything in black ink. What’s that about? Books have always been written in black ink. Anyway, they added colors a while back.

Most recently, they added the color pink. That’s the secret part. Do you know why? That’s why StoryMistress was laughing so hard, over the color pink. Some fancy lady who drives a pink Cadillac and wears only pink – pink shoes, pink dresses, even pink pantyhose (What are those? I haven’t discovered that word before - pantyhose. Maybe reading Chaucer and poets like Browning and Frost has left me unprepared for this modern world...) suggested strongly that the only way she would join the writer’s group was if she could use the color pink. Can you imagine? Pink words on a page? What’s even funnier was that with the click of a few keys on that funny keyboard, the StoryMistress was able to accommodate that crazy pink lady.

All the while, though, she was laughing. I wondered if StoryMistress was getting enough sleep. She and StoryMaster were gone for a few days and they came back saying they were "elated but tired."

Now they’re in the midst of partying again. They keep singing and talking about some birthday or anniversary, two years of this book thingie on the screen. My, I have been absorbed in my travels on the bookshelves. No wonder the dust has settled there.

Anyway, that’s my story about why that book thingie now has pink letters. I have lots more to tell. Being a Bookworm in the office of the StoryMaster and StoryMistress is much better than being a fly upon the wall. They swat at flies, you know. But Bookworms are warm, cuddly things that belong in dusty, old studies and libraries. Besides, the StoryMaster and StoryMistress so engrossed in what they’re doing, they don’t even notice when I crawl up on their shoulders to get a better view about what makes them grumble or laugh.

Hey, if you pay me, I’ll share some more secrets. And, none of that funny money, that stuff like Monopoly money. I think they call them "gift points." Boy, there’s another story for you. Another time, though.

This has been Glenda the Bookworm, bringing you secrets from the study of the StoryMaster and StoryMistress. You want any more inside information from this Bookworm, and you’re going to have to cough up some dough.


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Written for a contest. Of course.