Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

writing struggles August 24, 2011

Filed under: Commentary,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:01 am
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“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

— George Orwell

I kind of feel sorry for George when I read this.  Perhaps it was the subject matter he chose?  Or the onerous nature of writing by hand or typing on an old typewriter?

Personally, I don’t feel like I am compelled to write by any demons.  I feel like I’m invited to enter a new world, that comes into being as I step through.  For me, writing is kind of like the scene at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Harry finds himself in the train station. His awareness of need calls things  into being.  That concept  is a wonderful metaphor for the writing process.

I don’t find writing to be horrible at all, and most certainly not an exhausting struggle.  It’s more like an invigorating adventure, where surprise waits around every corner.

I can see how writing Orwellian books would be completely soul destroying though.  Living in the head of  1984’s protagonist, Winston, for the time needed to craft that novel would be enough to suck the life right out of you.  Fatalistic visions of a horrible future don’t make for a positive outlook.  I hope George had some antidepressants.  It’s always better to be doing a task you enjoy.

 

Farewell Jack August 22, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:45 pm
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I was so sorry to hear today about the death of Jack Layton, the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party.  Layton was a statesman whom people trusted and respected.  His personal integrity made him one of the most popular politicians in Canada, and when the NDP became the official opposition in the last election,  it was a first for the party, and it was mostly because people trusted Layton above the other options.

Layton’s battle with cancer was public.  At a recent press conference when he announced that he was stepping down to concentrate on treatment for new cancers, the nation was shocked to see how ill he looked.  Today our nation is flying flags at half-mast in his honour, and a movement is afoot to put a candle in your window at 9 pm to celebrate his life.

He left his wife Olivia with a letter to Canadians.  His parting words are

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

Jack Layton

Farewell, Jack.  We’re going to miss your integrity, values and abilities.  We’ll do our best to follow in your footsteps and change the world for the better.

 

field of dreams August 21, 2011

Filed under: Commentary,narrative,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:01 am
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I’ve never responded to a short story prompt, but why not?  Here is something new for this blog!

An offering for the Short Story slam prompt: http://bluebellbooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/short-story-slam-week-8.html

My grandmother looked over the field of ripening grain and saw into her future.   She saw my grandfather driving his beat up ’46 Ford pick-up down the dusty road, saw six babies, saw  two funerals, four weddings, and then she saw me.

I was wailing in a cradle, waiting and wailing.  The house was filling with smoke.  She saw two more funerals.

On the day of the fire, my grandmother phoned my mother.  “You be careful, hon.”  Grandmother could feel the fire coming.

My mom, she told me later, had laughed dismissively.  “Yes, ma.”  She had set out the candles and was enjoying the twinkling.  She fell asleep on the couch.  Dad was in bed, gone to bed early because he was on the early shift the next day.  One candle had caught the drapes.  The house was engulfed in moments.

Grandmother felt the flames grab the fabric, and phoned.  When there was no answer, she called the fire department.  They didn’t ask how someone 400 miles away knew there was a fire.  They went.  They found me, waiting for them and wailing to tell them where I was.  My door was shut.  The master bedroom door was open.  Two more funerals.

And so I came to live with my Grandmother, and to look across the same fields, and to glance into my own distant future.

But that is another story.

 

Roots and Blues August 20, 2011

Filed under: Pondering — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:01 am
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Having read all last night, (The Help) and getting only 3 hours sleep before I had to start my day, I’m now sitting here at 11 p.m. having awoken from a five hour nap, listening to the music from the main stage of the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival.

This is quite a lovely festival, with generally well-behaved guests of all ages, who listen to a variety of music from around the world on several stages throughout the day, and settle in for the main stage once night falls.  A significant portion of Salmon Arm comes free as volunteers for one area or another.

This year I am volunteering on the dance stage.  Various  local dance groups are performing a little, and then leading a participation workshop.  We’ve been practising all summer, which is good, because usually we all desperately miss dance between the spring and fall sessions.

Lots of people make up these local festivals, doing all sorts of little jobs.  Our time makes it happen.  Come on and enjoy a day with us!

 

help your choices August 19, 2011

Filed under: Pondering,Reading — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:01 am
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In the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett,  Skeeter is confronted by her maid, Constantine who tells her,

“Ever morning, until you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision…. You gone have to ask yourself, Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?”  (Kathryn Stockett, p. 73)

Skeeter is floored by this revelation.  She says,

“All my life I’d been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a a girl.  But with Constantine’s thumb pressed in my hand, I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe.” (Ibid. p. 74)

This is a powerful message, isn’t it?  You choose the values, morals and beliefs that guide your life.  Your parents may teach you theirs, but in the end, you have the right, perhaps really the obligation, to choose your own.

 

bilingual brains August 18, 2011

Filed under: Commentary,Reading — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:46 pm
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In these years of educational cut backs  to programs like music and languages, here’s a fascinating article about the value of learning foreign languages.  Knowing more languages improves understanding in your own language.  How cool is that?

I know that when I started learning Italian, I started to make all sorts of connections between Spanish, French and English words that added nuance to all of them.  For example, in Italian fog is nebbia.  Suddenly the word for a foggy idea, a nebulous idea, got an added layer of meaning.

In Italian left is sinistra.  The evil side.  The sinister side.  The good sit at the right hand, but evil is waiting on the left.  Bwah ha ha!!! (you could already hear that evil laughter, right?)

So not only does your brain forge new neural connections when you learn a new language, which is good in itself, but it is also improving your skills in your first language.  Win win!  I love happy endings.

Check out the article here:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bilingual-brains

 

pain and joy August 17, 2011

Filed under: Pondering — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:41 am
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I was watching Oprah the other day, and was so sad to hear of the tragic  experience of Chris and Lori Coble who lost their three young children in a horrific car accident.  Lori, her mom Cindy, and the kids, who were all buckled properly in their car seats, were stopped in a traffic jam around a blind corner.  A semi came around the corner a full-speed, and rammed into the mini-van killing all the children.

Can you imagine the anguish?

Three months of full-on, falling into pieces grief, the Cobles decided to do invitro fertilization to have more children.  I’ve read some commentary around the internet that some people think that was inappropriate.  One person said you wait longer to replace a dog.  All I could think when I read that, was that this person obviously didn’t love his dog enough.  We have always been out within the week, desperately attempting to fill the aching hole in our hearts and house.  If it was like that for our dog, I  can easily imagine how Cobles would be compelled to have more children, as soon as possible.

Having new children was never going take away the pain of losing the first three. It wasn’t going to replace Katie, Kyle, and Emma. , but it would give them something to live for.  Having children to care for was going to bring light, love, and laughter into their home: things that were desperately needed to lift the fog of horror and loss.

So almost a year after the accident that stole Katie, Kyle, and Emma, Lori delivered triplets.  Two girls and a boy: Ashley, Ellie, and Jake. Three sweet, busy children to echo the loss and encourage them to go on.  It’s enough to raise the goose-bumps, isn’t it?

Here is a video of Lori and Chris giving advice on how to comfort your friends who have lost a child.

Here is a video tribute to Kyle, Katie and Emma.

Here is a summary article about the Oprah interview.

 

love what you do, do what you love August 16, 2011

Filed under: Pondering,Reading — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:24 pm
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One of my favorite movies is the 1995 version of Sabrina, with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormand.  The obsessive adoration and the surprise of overlooking a greater love plays right into my romantic sensibilities.  I love the close relationship between Sabrina and her father, the chauffeur.  When she has returned, transformed, from Paris and is sorting out her new world, she observes,

I love so many things about you, Dad. But you know what I love best of all? You became a chauffeur because you wanted to have time to read. All my life, I’ve pictured you… sitting in the front seat of a long succession of cars… waiting for the Larrabees and reading.  (Sabrina, 1995)

This quote is interesting for a few reasons.

First, of course, it points to the concept that the desire to read, to know, to experience can be so overwhelming that it fills a life.  I spend much of my summers reading, and at the moment I’ve been reading so much that my eyes are aching and puffy.  I love that idea of having a job that leaves lots of time to explore new worlds.

Second, is the idea of choosing a job that allows you do what you love.  Sabrina’s father, Thomas Fairchild, loves to read.  He could have found a job as an editor, perhaps,  but then he wouldn’t get to choose what he reads.  Instead, he found a job that involves  so much waiting, that there was always ample opportunity to be reading.

As an added plus, he was able to hear so much stock information from the back seat, he was able to earn a fortune while he lived above the garage and read between the commutes.  The message is, if you choose to do what you love, and pay attention to other opportunities, you can make a perfect life for yourself.

I’m glad to have a job that I love.

It’s not worth the cash to do something you dislike just for the money.

Quality of life is important.  Do what you love.

 

poker face? August 15, 2011

Filed under: anecdotes — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:26 pm
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I was speaking to a young lady today, who was explaining why she’d quit her job. The new management was making a lot of changes that where making the business more inefficient, and then were complaining that the staff weren’t as fast. This young lady suggested the boss knew precisely what the staff thought of her because “I don’t have a good poker face. I have a ‘I think you’re stupid’ face.”

It still makes me chuckle.

 

keep walking August 13, 2011

Filed under: Pondering — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:31 pm
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If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. ~Buddhist Saying

It may take a while, but step by step, you get closer to your goal.  Don’t give up.  Don’t be discouraged.  Just keep moving forward.

While I was going to university, I got married, had babies, and moved a dozen times.  These were not activities that promoted speedy academic progress!  It took me 8 years to get my first degree, step by step, course by course.   Eventually the end arrives, if you keep moving toward your goal.

When I was writing Grace Awakening, I wrote 5 pages a day, 25 pages a week, for 6 months.  23 weeks later, there was a novel on my computer.   Some people write 8 hours a day and do 20 or 30 pages a day.  They speed through a novel in a month.  My pace may seem like I’m a tortoise in comparison, but I got there.  If I had gotten down on myself for not being a speedy hare, I might not have finished at all.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Keep your eyes on the prize.

Onward!