On writing

Over five years ago I decided I wanted to write more. You see, I love stories, and I love telling stories and hearing them and then relaying what I have heard-you get the picture. Some people had been telling me I should start writing some of my stories down. I decided I wanted to do that, but I wasn't doing it. My dear friend Meg, who lives in Texas, sent me a brand new composition notebook and a large bag of M&Ms for writing inspiration. I sat down in the floor in front of the heater one night in the garage apartment and wrote about half a story about Hopey (the plott hound under the Christmas tree for those of you who don't know). I wrote until my hand was stiff and I needed to go to sleep. The next morning I got up and looked at what I had written, and it seemed dumb. I ate up all the M&Ms in a couple of days and never wrote another thing in that notebook.

Maybe it was that same winter or maybe it was the next, my friend Rosemoon told me I should start a blog. I thought the word blog was downright dumb, and after all the whole thing sounded pretty complicated. I told her I couldn't do that because I didn't know how to do that kind of thing. She kept telling me to start a blog and finally when she showed me how to do it, I said OK.

I have been keeping a regular blog ever since. Being practically a neo-Luddite my own self, I don't know why this format works so well for me. I really don't. I am a fan of all things that are going out of practice. Longhand cursive, face to face conversations, cake walks, letters, library research, tea and talking, made in USA, # 2 pencils, what have you.

I have a drawer full of #2 pencils, and I have been wanting to use them bad lately. I have just been craving that feel of a sharp graphite point on a tangible piece of paper. What? I messed up? No sweat- I will just erase that part with the handy rubber eraser and move on. It is wonderful. The wood, the mineral, the rubber- a trinity of underappreciated usefulness.

My problem has been, I have had all these brand spanking new #2 pencils sitting around (most of them have a Halloween theme- thanks Mom), but I have had no pencil sharpener and a kitchen knife just wasn't "cutting" it. I kept meaning to pick up a handy little pencil sharpenerwhen I was out and about, but then I would always forget until I was home and wanting to use a pencil. I guess it's just the type of thing that's fairly easy to go around forgetting.

Well, my pencil troubles were all unexpectedly resolved yesterday during a snowy visit to my grandmother's house I made with my sister (another dying trend- visiting with family for no good reason.) We were taking her some sweets we had baked- a little something to make the snow storm a little more palatable. She started asking us what we wanted in our stockings this Christmas, and I couldn't think of a damned thing. I wanted to say "no stinky bath products please," but finally I thought of one silly little thing. "I would like a pencil sharpener for Christmas." She chuckled the chuckle of someone who is humoring someone who just said something dumb, but then I saw her lovely hazel eyes light up with a revelation.

"You want a pencil sharpener? I have an extra one. I just bought several the other day because they were on a fantastic special!" She disappeared into the other room and re-emerged after a few moments with this beauty.




Perfect. The Duel Hole Sharpener. Love the Chinese. Love the grandmother who buys extra Duel Hole Sharpeners because they are on a fantastic special. Love the #2 pencils. If the internet crashes, perhaps I will pull out my old composition notebook, wipe the dust off, and finish that story about the dog. If I re-read it and something sounds dumb, I will erase it and try again. When I am finished, maybe I will brew some tea, invite a few people over, turn off the cell phones, and read the story right off the page. Wouldn't that be lovely...