Author: Ajmorse

Flash Fiction: Testimony of Johnathan Lawrence, Murder Trial #4565

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Um, I’m not really sure what happened here. I felt the pressure to write something new tonight, as I don’t want to disappoint those that have been looking for something new from me each night, but also because I really need to push myself to write everyday.

And when I push myself, I really do seem to surprise myself. Nothing is perfect, but it sure is entertaining sometimes. I also might be watching reruns of Bones tonight…which might act as some accidental inspiration. 😉

Happy Weekend everyone!

The Testimony of Johnathan Lawrence, Murder Trial #4565.

She’s got that look that she’s been used too many times. Like her face would have dried up, if she didn’t keep applying make up. Maybe last week she had a someone, maybe it was yesterday. What’s the term they use for women who have…let me say…”been around the bend?”

wpid-img_20150419_180345483.jpgAh, she had her uses I suppose. Her hair was that smooth, silky black, her eyes wounded, her lips pouty. I loved the way she chewed them when she was speaking to me. As if every word next out of that sticky, pink mouth was going to say something holy –  something worthy of remembering. She didn’t really have a sense of humor. It took her a while to get to the point. Or maybe that’s just because she thought too much about the answer. Thinks that maybe saying the wrong thing will get her hit again. Just how it happened when she was ten, just how it happened when she first slept with her ex-boyfriend.

[The first lawyer asks the witness] Did you hit her John?

No! I didn’t hit her! What kind of jackass do you think I am? I just like it when she did what she does. You know…down there. God, the magic of a woman’s mouth. You know, I liked it when she got real slippery…would giggle like a little girl. [Someone clears their throat. Probably the lawyer]. Huh. So that’s why she looked so wounded. You’d think she’d have figured out that’s not the way to be. Turns a man off, you know? I guess all the hitting made her stupid. She sure was nice to look at, though.

What was the name she gave me? Hell, if I remember. Anita? No, Laura? Yes, Laura. Laura Tippleton. She told me that she liked to go downtown sometimes at Midnight. That’s where they would find her. You know…her “conquests.” [Witness laughs]. That’s where she found me.

[The second lawyer, this one female asks:] Did she like to go down to the river?

Well, I guess. Maybe she would skip rocks or something like that. Fish. You know, she used to say if you look at the surface of the water long enough you could see the future, I just thought she got hit in the head too many times.

[The first lawyer looks up from the table where he sits next to a young man; a greasy young man who is hand cuffed and wears an orange jump suit.]

[The female lawyer asks] Do you think she saw anything in the river?

[The witness on the stand looks puzzled. He rubs at the grizzle on his face. Adjusts his red cap with oil-stained fingers.]

[The judge begs him to answer the question.]

[The witness’s eyes cross and his mouth works, then pauses, and then he speaks.] I guess not then, huh? Because that’s where they found her, isn’t? Hell, you never know the finality of life until it is staring you in the face. Plum, staring you in the face. Would have been nice of the river to tell her that. Maybe they wouldn’t have found her like they did. I wish I could have told her that. I, well…I’m sorry I couldn’t remember her name.

[The female lawyer gives him a long, hard look, but it is not completely unkind. Her eyes glance, just once over to the judge. She speaks.]   No further questions.

Game of Thrones Season 5 episode 2 Review: The House of Black and White

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***Note: I meant to have this review out on Monday, but alas, work happened. -.-

Warning: Full spoilers a head…

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

Well, Game of Thrones is done for another week, but what to say about the latest episode? Again, it didn’t seem like much happened; there were a lot of stories covered, but it didn’t have the intensity as the season premiere. Arya’s story kicks off the episode and if you were expecting a lot of scenes of hers, you will be sorely disappointed.

Our youngest Stark girl has finally made her way to Bravos and then to the house of the black and white. She knocks on the door and asks the man in a cloak who answers if Jaqen H’ghar is there, but the man knows no one by that name. Discouraged, she throws away the coin that Jaqen had given her. Then later, when she encounters some young men in the streets who intend to do her harm, the mysterious man from the house of black and white appears suddenly, gives her back the coin and turns into Jaqen. When questioned why he said he didn’t know anyone by that name, he replies with that he is nobody and nobody is who she must become.

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

Brienne of Tarth and Pod come across Sansa and Petyr Baelish in an Inn on the road. After swearing her loyalty to Sansa and to her late mother, Sansa, (not surprisingly) refuses Lady Brienne’s help, and is encouraged by Baelish not to trust her. After Baelish’s men try unsuccessfully to kill both Brienne and Pod, they return to the road with Brienne’s insistence that they will follow them to keep Sansa safe.

Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Cersei has received a message from Dorne in regards to her daughter’s safety, and Jaime makes plans with Bronn to travel to Dorne to bring his daughter back to them. Cersei also spends time on the counsel acting as hand for her son, who she claims has not chosen a hand, but that she will be more than willing to fill the role for the time being. She has surrounded herself with an unseemly bunch, which does not go unnoticed by Cersei’s uncle who leaves the meeting disgusted and irritated by Cersei’s choices and her assumption of power.

In Dorne, Ellaria Sand wants revenge for Prince Oberon’s death and threatens to harm Myrcella. She offers to send Myrcella back to Cersei in pieces, but the Prince of Dorne claims that they do not harm children. She says that she has the sand snakes (who we have disappointingly yet to see) and then leaves in a big huff.

Meanwhile, in Meereen, the Unsullied find a member of the Son’s of the Harpy for Dany and brings them to her for judgement. However, the representative of the slaves believes that the man does not deserve a trial and takes it upon himself to kill the Harpy for Dany. Instead of being pleased by this decision, she is forced to show her people, the former slaves of meereen, the difference between freedom and justice, and has the slave executed.

Which probably was not the best decision, because the slaves grow angry and collectively fight each other and hiss at Dany. Clearly shaken by the ordeal, she retires to her chambers only to see that her black dragon, Drogon, has returned to her. He sniffs at her hand for a brief moment and then leaves Dany, who is clearly crestfallen by the encounter.

Tyrion and Varys continue to make their way towards Meereen and Tyrion has some clever and amusing lines about the carriage that they are traveling in and how it is like a box, and how dwarves and eunuchs seem suited for such things. He remarks that there is a bug in the carriage to which Varys says something along the lines that it would be good for Tyrion to eat something solid for once. Har. Har.

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

At the Wall, Jon Snow gets elected Lord Commander, after clever words from Samwell Tarly about how Jon commanded them and led them through the battle with the Wildings. Stannis isn’t pleased that Jon put Mance out of his misery, but he wants the north and offers to make Jon a Stark and the true lord to Winterfell. Jon admits to Sam that it is one of the first things he’s ever wanted; but of course he doesn’t take it, because it would be going against his vows. This is why we love Jon Snow. So noble! (And handsome!)

And that’s pretty much it! I have to admit to being a little disappointed in this episode, although I have read other reviews that have differing opinions. After getting a quarter of the way into book four, I am starting to realize why the show’s creators are having to deviate from what happens in the book. Not a lot happens! And book four is full of lesser characters and is sooo boring.

On the other hand, there are still stories that I love; Arya’s, for example. Before, I had no idea that the show was changing so much from the novels…and I guess ignorance truly is bliss, because now I’m like: what the heck? How do you guys out there loyal to the books stand it? Most of the stories seem to have end up like they were supposed to in the end, but some are so different!

The story that I’m worried about most is Arya’s. Surely, they can’t mess up that? Did you guys have any thoughts about this week’s episode? What did you think?

Here’s a peek at the next episode:

(And this is how I feel about reading the Greyjoy’s stories in book four, lol!)

5534337021478db3485e28f3_who-is-that-guy-on-game-of-thrones-episode-2

A start at Flash-fiction: Smelling Sunshine

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

Just some musings in the car parking lot while I was waiting for my boyfriend to get out of work this afternoon. I’ve been trying to push my self to write more and more this week and it’s funny how comfortable I seem to be writing in the oddest of places.

Put me in front of my desk at home in my office and suddenly there’s everything else to do and check out. Like youtube. And facebook, and of course, 5 amazingly awesome recipes and articles and gah! I am a terrible person sometimes.

I’m actually pretty proud of this. I’m not sure what it is, exactly, but I’ll call it a start to some flash fiction, which I want to try to write more of. I do consider myself a fiction writer afterall, but…I’m having fun dabbling in a little bit of everything at the moment.

I hope everyone is having a great evening. Happy Writing!

Smelling Sunshine

image

I blink, unable to see. The glare from the cars in the parking lot blind me; their busty trunks and fenders glisten, catching the day’s brilliance in colors of blue, gray, white and green. I can hear the brrrrggh of cars running and the rumbling cough and sputter of a car that doesn’t want to start.

The cool air blows through my car window and it smells like exhaust, tires and left-over winter, but its icicle-taste has gone stale in my mouth. Spring is in the air now and the world looks cheery, full of fake promises; like when a person says one thing and means another.

Sure, the world can look great on the outside if it wants to. The sky that robin’s egg blue, with white wispy clouds so high up, you wonder if the scientists up in space can see what you see. But inside and outside, everything and everyone is often something different.

Take this person. She is average height. Average looks with a plain T-shirt with writing on that stretches across her boobs, that says something obscene like “Bob’s Big Ones,” that makes you read what it says and everything else underneath.

Maybe she shouldn’t have left the house in those sweat pants. But she looks tired. Her brown hair is pulled back in a pony tail, and she wears a harassed expression. She’ll thank the cashier who wishes her a great day as she grabs her groceries, but inside she’s really thinking: God, just one more day. Am I really where I’m meant to be?

An old man in the deli misses his late wife of fifty years. A middle-aged woman clutches a tomato in her hand in the middle of the produce and worries her husband is having an affair with his secretary; this is just the color of lipstick that she would wear. A college student with braids, glasses and uni-brow, listens to music and thinks about geology as she grabs at a container of hummus.

Every life’s a puzzle, and every puzzle a piece of the mystery. We are never what we say we are, and that includes the weather. Maybe that’s why I have this feeling that something bad is about to happen. I can just hear my mother right now: Oh, stop, you are being ridiculous. My boyfriend would tell me I am being dramatic.

But it’s there waiting for you. Waiting…Waiting…Waiting for you to….Strike! Just kidding. Waiting for you to wake up and open your eyes and smell the sunshine.

And I’ll see and see, and breathe it in as long as I can.

Life is what that is. Life.

Something Told the Wild Geese -YOUR FAVOURITE POEM

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Ah, something to share with you guys tonight. I really like this one! 🙂

poetreecreations's avatarpoetreecreations.wordpress.com

GOO

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, “snow.”

Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, “frost.”

All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.

Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.

by
Rachel Field

YOUR FAVOURITE POEM SENT IN BY YOU

WHAT’S YOUR’S ?

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Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 1 Review: The Wars to Come

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Warning, full spoilers ahead…

Credit: Fox

Credit: HBO

Game of Thrones’ first episode of season five – wow! Basically, it’s all just one big major catch-up, although there are a few important plot points that are worthy of mentioning. It was intense, yet not a lot happened at the same time. But Game of Thrones usually starts out slow and then builds as the season goes on.

The first scene opens up with Cersei’s story, and a flashback to her childhood where she visits a witch, who predicts her future. In short: Cersei faces some challenges this season. Her father is dead, her brother/lover, Jamie and her are at odds and her powerful position as Queen is being threatened by Margaery Tyrell. Something has to happen in order for her to keep that power. But it looks like Cersei has no desire to be the victim. Meanwhile, we see a scene between Margaery and her brother, the knight of flowers, (naked lover aside), which hints that Margaery doesn’t really intend to go down without a fight, and if she can avoid being the daughter-in-law of Cersei…well, things might just get ugly.

Credit: Fox

Credit: HBO

Tyrion arrives in Pentos with Varys at Illyrio’s palace, (the place where we see Dany and her brother in the very first season.) Tyrion has this great plan to drink himself to death, but Varys reveals that he didn’t save him for that purpose. It is apparent that Varys believes that peace in the realm can come from a Targaryen at the helm and he tells Tyrion of his plans to travel to Meereen and meet Dany.

Credit: Fox

Credit: HBO

In Meereen, Dany and Daario are still lovers, one of the unsullied gets killed while visiting a brothel, and Dany admits that she cannot control her dragons. She also has difficulties settling problems as the Queen, and exchanges some pillow talk with Daario while they drink wine together in bed.

At the wall, Jon Snow trains the young boy who killed Ygritte, (he seems to go a bit hard on him, too, coincidence? I think not). We see a little bit of Sam and Gilly; Gilly is once again worried about being sent away. Stannis Baratheon asks Lord Snow to speak with Mance Rayder about convincing the Wildings to fight for him, in return for pardon and a home on the other side of the wall. Jon knows that Mance won’t bend the knee, but he tries to convince him anyway. He doesn’t and Stannis and the red woman put Mance to death by fire. Jon Snow can’t stand to see a man he respects die in such a gruesome way, and he shoots him with an arrow, so he doesn’t have to suffer the pain and humiliation. As such, the episode ends with Jon Snow incidentally becoming one of the most powerful crows at the wall.

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

Other stories that we saw last night: a little bit of Sansa; she is continuing to watch and learn at the side of Petyr Baelish, and we see that Brienne of Tarth seems to have given up her search for the two Stark girls. And poor Pod, her almost squire, has nowhere to go.

Credit: HBO

Credit: HBO

What to look forward in next week’s episode: Arya! Bran is completely absent from this season, of course, but it is interesting to see the remaining Stark’s stories. I’m very curious to see what happens with Jon Snow, and Sansa, especially now that Sansa has finally learned to play the game with everyone else.

Will there really be a meeting between Tyrion and Dany? Worlds are colliding and we love it! There is a big shift of power now that Lord Tywin is gone. Who’s going to be the next big player in this Game of Thrones? Here’s a sneak peek of next week’s episode:

An English Major’s Struggle To Find a Job

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I recently took a new job here, (go figure, right?)…something that has me typing information at a desk, not customer service, not worrying about sales pitch – did I get it right? Just plain old monotonous information, and type-type typing away.typing-clipart-16-COLOR

And while this job was described to me as incredibly boring, I can’t but help be somewhat relieved. Left to my own thoughts, my own devices, I am more productive, less stressed and overall satisfied. Plus, I don’t have to talk to anyone if I don’t want to. Is it sad how much this is a relief to me?

Ever since college I have been struggling finding my way or niche in this world…I watch friends of mine, graduates from the same college get jobs at corporations, in the classroom, or go on to pursue higher education at graduate school.

I am proud of them and their accomplishments, but where does that leave me? Taking a job in retail, in customer service, in collections…finding places that pay the big bucks with little need to think or grow? I don’t live in an area that offers an overwhelming amount of options, either. I feel like I have ruined my job experience…even the manager that recently interviewed me said he was worried about hiring me…”Your job history seems a little…scattered,” he said.

“Oh, I know,” I said, and then shrugged. What could I say?

“I missed the boat when it came to moving to Florida?”

“I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up?”

Life is difficult and not always forgiving when it comes to pursuing your dreams and passions. I got an English degree, so everyone assumed that I wanted to be a teacher. I worked in customer service, so everyone assumed that I’m great on the phone, and love to help others. (I am great on the phone by the way. Former debt collector here, watch out!)

But what to do…what to do, when all of the world seems to be telling me that I am a failure? I took the jobs…because I needed the money. Not everyone has a savings or rich relatives. (Oh, but wouldn’t that be nice!)notebook in candlelightSince I was a young teen, the one thing that I consider myself great at is writing. This led to the thought: “I’ll be a writer.” Yet, with the pressure on to pay the bills…is such a desire a pipe dream? Or should I really just bite the bullet and go back to college…even though I don’t know what I want to study?

The questions are endless and the emotions boarding on that feeling of overwhelming sadness. I think the real answer to these questions are:

Do what makes you happy and don’t worry what everyone else thinks.

My head is grasping for the words of advice I’ve heard many times: “Don’t give up, you’ll get there.”

“Believe in yourself.”

“Never stop writing.”

“Don’t lose faith in yourself.”

Yet, they seem to be falling on deaf ears this afternoon, or falling in the cracks of heater and getting lodged there, (God knows little heat is getting out!).

doryThe sun is peaking out of the clouds now, and the snow has finally stopped. For some reason Dory’s voice from Finding Nemo has snuck its way into my head:

“Just keep swimming…just keep swimming…What do we do? We swim!”

Hmm…I am a terrible swimmer, but I can keep going, no matter how difficult it is…

The truth of the matter is, I am not unhappy here, sitting at my desk in the sunshine, which is creeping through to land on the floor and the cheery, yellow walls of my office.

I can keep on swimming, and I can begin to stop listening to what others think…because only my opinion matters in this instance. Being a writer is my pipe dream, and that’s all that matters.

I can keep on swimming no matter the cost.

Poetry: I can write haiku, can you?

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It’s snowing outside, tiny flakes coming down from the sky in all directions, swirling chaotically around cars and the pavement outside my window.

View from my office window.

View from my office window.

Naturally this makes me want to write, of course. I don’t know what it is…maybe because it’s warm in our apartment, I woke up refreshed (finally) after a good nights sleep and I have the day off from work.

Maybe there’s something in the way that snowy sleepy days naturally put me in a thoughtful mood, and thoughtful moods generally lead to writing…if I were a painter, I’d paint the heck out of a glorious snowy day, but alas, the best brush I have, is the brush of words on blank, blank paper.

And of course, the last sentence I just wrote had me thinking about haiku poems. It’s been ages since I’ve written one…not since college three years ago. I found a refresher at this website, here.

(From the website:) The haiku is a Japanese verse in three lines.  Line one has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line three has 5 syllables. Haiku is a mood poem and it doesn’t use any metaphors or similes.

wpid-img_20141127_165052481.jpg

View of the moon and snowy trees at my Grandma’s house, the evening of Thanksgiving.

I don’t usually think of myself as a poet. My advance poetry teacher in college said to me once, “You are definitely a fiction writer.” And that seemed to cement the idea in my brain. He didn’t mean to say that I was inept at poetry, just that eventually all writers make a choice, and I am a lover of stories and so naturally fiction was my style of choice.

But lately, I am constantly reminded by poetry why writing descriptive, lyrical words are so important. Why some fiction is just poetry in an extended form. In a single poem, an image is created in just a few words. I think poetry is a great way to remind fiction writers how important it is to show, not tell what is happening in the story, but to focus on the concise, and descriptive words.

Here’s some haiku of my own. Some silly, some serious, some not really haiku poems at all, but all poetry:

The bright yellow sun shines

through icicles hanging

on the windowsill

 

 

icicles remind

us to mind the cold weather

bundle up you beasts

 

 

dogs don’t like the snow

wagging their tails between gusts

shivering snow and wind

 

 

the snow swirls around the pavement

children walk by with parents

hands howling in their gloves

 

 

So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow…

(Just kidding! haha…can’t get this poem out of my head for some reason! For those that don’t know this is the start of a poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow,” by William Carlos Williams. I remember there were those that either loved it or hated it in my poetry class. There was a great debate that followed about it.)

And lastly, another haiku of my own:

 

The dead of winter

snow falls down on black pavement

eat lunch, eat sunlight

This has been a lot of fun for me this afternoon. Feel free to comment with your own, if you like!

Happy Writing!

Netflix’s Marco Polo: A Thrilling Disappointment?

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Marco Polo thrills with the experience of transporting the viewer back through time, but where it excels in the theatrical it disappoints in focus. For a show named Marco Polo, one might think that the show would be mostly about the great adventurer, but that is simply not the case.

If you haven’t watched the show, there are spoilers a head.

Since he was a young boy, Marco Polo, played by Lorenzo Richelmy, longed to be an adventurer like his father. When he finally gets his chance, he his betrayed by his father and left behind as a tribute/prisoner to Kublai Khan. Marco quickly proves himself useful, though, and the khan takes advantage of the young man’s gift for languages and cleverness. Marco is trained as a Mongolian; how to ride and shoot, how to fight with a sword and trained in Kung Fu. He seems to take this in stride, (I’m not certain if this is bad characterization, or if Polo is truly that adaptable,) but he quickly learns and comes to respect his new way of life. Because of the mercy that the khan shows on numerous occasions, Polo comes to respect him and like everyone else who circles around this great man, Polo yearns for the khan’s approval.

And Kublai Khan played by, Benedict Wong, is magnanimous. When the show begins, you are prepared to hate the man (he is Polo’s captor after all,) but what you find is a leader conflicted by what is right for his kingdom. After a few episodes, you realize that this is a man who truly seems to care for the people who serve him, he is a family man, and he desires to learn about different cultures and religions. Compared to this strong, powerful Mongolian, why would anyone bother to look at the outsider, this Italian merchant that everyone calls, “The Latin?”

This is a question that we are still asking ourselves after the end of the first season. Why is Marco Polo so important? He does pale in comparison to the characters around him. His ability to assimilate so quickly to the culture is remarkable and perhaps that is what makes Marco Polo unique, but next to the great khan he is really just a boy seeking approval from another father figure.

But why wouldn’t Marco like this new way of life? Almost every woman we see in the show is a whore, or gives it away easily, with no thought of repercussion. Granted, this is not Europe, who were considerably more prude during the thirteenth century, but the scenes of naked women in whore houses, and in the khan’s bedroom, seem to be more about drawing in viewers than about anything remotely sexy.

Polo’s main love interest is the Blue Princess, and you might think, here is where we will see some real romance. Yet, the reason for their attraction for one another is lost in the rest of the drama that happens around them. Perhaps, they both want what they can’t have? Who knows.

The Blue Princess played by, Claudia Kim, is attractive, yes, but the only interesting thing about her character is also her greatest flaw. When the khan invaded her home, the real princess killed herself, leaving the present Blue Princess (who was a servant in the palace) to take her place. She spends most of her time locked away by her protector, dressing up in jewels and silks, whining and snapping at servants and doing everything to convince us that she is a princess. Yet, she manages to do nothing remotely interesting.

The only real entertaining female role is of Sorga, played by Vanessa Vanderstraaten, who is a warrior, daughter of Kaidu and related to the Khan. But we don’t see nearly enough of her. When she is on-screen, it is because she is seducing Marco Polo or finding love herself. That doesn’t mean that the Khan’s favorite wife, Empress Chabi, (Joan Chen), isn’t a strong woman, though. The Khan listens often to her advice, and she has her own duties besides just looking attractive on his arm. One of them being: picking new concubines for her husband? That’s a new one.

Despite some character flaws and a story that has some plot holes in it, Marco Polo does sweep you up into Thirteen century Mongolia…clearly this is a world that we haven’t seen before, and would love to see more of. It’s a cultural gem; the music, the clothing, the scenery, the fight scenes. The clashes between cultures, and domains. Netflix certainly doesn’t skimp on their costumes, sets or locations. But to invest so much money and time into such a big project, why does everyone always seem to forget about the importance of having a great story?

I’d love to see Marco Polo living up to the greatness it has set up for itself in Season 2, but you can’t forget about the story! Why does everyone always forget the story?

Have you guys seen the new show yet? Let me know what you think!

What Makes Life Worth Living?

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These last couple of day have been stressful for us. My car is in the shop, it is 7 degrees outside, and until I get paid next week, I have about $2.

Life is not exactly easy when you live paycheck to paycheck, and although I am trying to look on the positive side, sometimes I do start to hyperventilate. The man in my life, although he pretends to be all manly and tough most of the time, said it this way: “We have each other, babe.”

And as corny as that sounds, I had a thought about it. It may seem like the end of the world when you can’t pay your bills, but it’s really not. Sure, you get behind, it happens. But life is in the people you love, in the people who love you and in the times you share together.

Love doesn’t pay the bills, but it sure does remind you what makes life worth living. And that’s all I need for the time being.

Oh, and brownies:

wpid-img_20150106_205957593.jpgI made these tonight with this recipe here, (with my own tweaks of course) and I think these will go well with a cup of hot coco, yes? 🙂

I counted on my fingers before bed…I have a at least fifteen friends and family that love me. I am not without love in my life. I am poor, but I am not worthless.

These thoughts of failure, life stresses and worthlessness made me think of what Clarence writes in George’s book in the end of It’s a Wonderful Life:

“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

No…they are most definitely not. I hope everyone is keeping warm, and positive this cold, Tuesday night.

Happy Writing everyone!

 

 

 

It Really IS a Wonderful Life…

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These last couple days have been a blast. Christmas isn’t apparently just one day in our house, we have been celebrating more of a Christmas week. I think it is definitely time to start eating healthier again, though, and to start exercising. And on that note, while taking a walk on Christmas day near my Grandma’s house, we came upon an old cemetery, and this headstone:

wpid-img_20141225_160829935.jpgNot only is it interesting that this person from middle-of no-where-upstate, New York, fought and died for his country, someone somewhere out there still appreciates him. He was a veteran and that still matters, even if it happened over 50 years ago.

The flowers in front of his headstone were blown over and covered with leaves, but we dusted them off, and nestled them in front of his grave. The wind was blowing and the rain started splattering on our faces, and I tried to identify the significance this moment could possibly have.

Was it sad to be in a graveyard on Christmas afternoon? Was the rain and gloominess really just a way to emphasize it? Every little detail became so important suddenly: the curiosity on my boyfriend’s face as he yells across the headstones: “Look at this one, babe!”

wpid-img_20141225_155031537_hdr.jpgThe way the land curves and rolls; the mounds of grass, the moss that grows in splotches; and the path that cuts through the cemetery between tall, long-limbed trees. If you stood at one end of the path and looked down it, you get the impression that it goes on forever; that life continues somewhere on the “other side” where the road ends.

And meanwhile, the sky is so gray the clouds seem grumpy, like steel-gray eyebrows furrowed in disappointment, that it seems nearly impossible to find the light in the darkness, to stand tall and go about your day.

Except, I wasn’t sad or disappointed, I just felt…blessed. I was thankful to be where I am, in the country I am, with the people who I love and that belong to me. I felt proud for this soldier who had represented my country, and honored that I was the one who righted his flowers, to tell him, (even if it was just in a small way), that he did matter and still does to those who understand freedom and cherish it like I do.

I felt irony because of the name on the headstone, which happens to be the veteran’s father: George Bailey.

George Bailey, the name of the character in It’s a Wonderful Life, the man who didn’t know what wealth truly was until it was taken away from him. That our worth isn’t measured in the dollars in our pockets, but in the lives we touch and the people who love us most.

And isn’t that at the heart of Christmas?

wpid-img_20141210_161130902.jpgI had a fantastic holiday, and I hope everyone else did, too. Did you do anything special this year? Vacation in the tropics? I’d love to hear about it.

Happy Writing everyone!