Thursday, March 03, 2011
Excerpt #7, from pages 37/38 of "Stream of Consciousness"
Here I am finally... on my last paragraph. Ahhhh… to write like a dolphin. To glide into my last few words here and then to be done. Then I can email it off and head home to check on Danielle. I bet he took her to the beach to feed the seagulls after ice cream. So much for her sick-day at home. But, he’s so great with her. Oh, that reminds me to text Eric to get the other kids while they’re out and about. Okay... here goes, my final words about the dolphin:
To obey, to be, to give in. The simplistic joy of being. Of loving. Of hating. Of rejoicing. Of weeping. The dolphin jumps above the surface. She catches a ray of warmth upon her back. She smiles. She goes back under. She races into a new adventure. Ready for hope. Ready for love. Ready for the wind and sun and salt to splash into her eyes. And then, she gets eaten by a great white shark. And yet, she is renewed. Born again, into a stronger creature... to thrive... to grow... to overcome.
Okay, hit send. And it’s off… short and sweet and crazy, but Samantha is going to love it. She’ll eat up the ending too, I know it. Who’d have thought that the dolphin would die? But the truth is that we all die someday and then heaven awaits. So, for now this dolphin is going to die. But, in an upbeat way. She’s gonna be so pumped that I’m done with it. Yes. Thank you God! Finally. Okay, now, I’m off to my new folder titled “Book.” So pathetic though. The “Simon Says” thing isn’t working for me yet. Still gonna keep my baby title-less. But that’s okay. All good writers hit roadblocks from time to time. I’ve just got to put mine into four-wheel-drive. Here goes. I’m just gonna write what comes to mind. For now, I’ll call it this:
“Hug the Grass”
The wind blew in a friendly fashion leaving its welcoming spring scent on my face. I could smell the delights of freshly mowed grass and the local barbeques in the area. I was thrilled to return home for dinner, though not quite sure of what I was going to make yet. My tummy grumbled since all I’d eaten was a small bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and a light salad with chopped walnuts and Bleu Cheese dressing for lunch.
“Simon says hug the grass. Simon says hop up and down like a monkey! Touch your belly button…” Grace called out to her brother.
“Mom, Jake touched his belly button, but I didn’t say Simon Says, so he’s out. Tell him, it’s my turn,” Grace shouted into my ear while I chatted with my mom on my cell.
“Hey Mom, how’s it going? Yeah, we just left the park. I’m gonna make quesadillas for dinner. I would’ve preferred tacos, but I forgot to set out some ground beef. What are you up to? Sorry, hold on Mom for just a second,” I said in a winded voice.
“Kids, I’m on the phone with Grammy, so please use your inside voices,” I patiently pleaded.
“Thanks Mom, I’m back. So you were about to say…”
“I just took Lexi out for a walk and had a thirty minute conversation with Dorothy. I’ll be taking her to her eye appointment tomorrow in the city, so that means we’ll have to leave at seven since it takes us about fifty-five minutes to get to that part of town. There’s no traffic for the thirty minutes of winding desert roads out of Borrego Springs, but once we hit the highway, then you never know.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve been out walking Lexi. She’s such a sweet puppy. And, that’s great that you’re helping Dorothy out. I bet she’s so lonely since her husband died. She seems really strong, like she’s going to pull through this.”
“She is really tough, so I’m sure she’ll be okay. But it’s hard to know how to help. I know I can only pray for her and try to be her friend,” she said in a tender voice.
“You’re doing a great job just by being her friend, Mom. Hey, if you feel like driving up after her appointment, you could swing by for an early dinner with us. You could even spend the night. I just bought some organic French Roast coffee that you’d love and we could make some cranberry scones in the morning.”
“Well, I’m way behind in our book-keeping, so I’ll have to postpone our next visit. Jack has been working so hard at the business and I hate to leave him alone,” she commented with concern.
“No worries Mom. I just miss you and hope we can hang out sometime soon. We just got home and I have to unload the munchkins. Can we chat tomorrow?” I pleaded.
“No problem Honey. I love you so much. Just give those kids a hug and a kiss from their Grammy. And tell them I love them,” she requested in a calm manner.
“Sure thing Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for calling.”
I hung up the phone. And five minutes later, we arrived at our house and the chaos of the dinnertime hour kicked in with a fury. The dogs begged for their food. Jake and Grace argued about the Wii controllers while Katie changed out of her Snow White outfit and into her Cinderella dress.
To obey, to be, to give in. The simplistic joy of being. Of loving. Of hating. Of rejoicing. Of weeping. The dolphin jumps above the surface. She catches a ray of warmth upon her back. She smiles. She goes back under. She races into a new adventure. Ready for hope. Ready for love. Ready for the wind and sun and salt to splash into her eyes. And then, she gets eaten by a great white shark. And yet, she is renewed. Born again, into a stronger creature... to thrive... to grow... to overcome.
Okay, hit send. And it’s off… short and sweet and crazy, but Samantha is going to love it. She’ll eat up the ending too, I know it. Who’d have thought that the dolphin would die? But the truth is that we all die someday and then heaven awaits. So, for now this dolphin is going to die. But, in an upbeat way. She’s gonna be so pumped that I’m done with it. Yes. Thank you God! Finally. Okay, now, I’m off to my new folder titled “Book.” So pathetic though. The “Simon Says” thing isn’t working for me yet. Still gonna keep my baby title-less. But that’s okay. All good writers hit roadblocks from time to time. I’ve just got to put mine into four-wheel-drive. Here goes. I’m just gonna write what comes to mind. For now, I’ll call it this:
“Hug the Grass”
The wind blew in a friendly fashion leaving its welcoming spring scent on my face. I could smell the delights of freshly mowed grass and the local barbeques in the area. I was thrilled to return home for dinner, though not quite sure of what I was going to make yet. My tummy grumbled since all I’d eaten was a small bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and a light salad with chopped walnuts and Bleu Cheese dressing for lunch.
“Simon says hug the grass. Simon says hop up and down like a monkey! Touch your belly button…” Grace called out to her brother.
“Mom, Jake touched his belly button, but I didn’t say Simon Says, so he’s out. Tell him, it’s my turn,” Grace shouted into my ear while I chatted with my mom on my cell.
“Hey Mom, how’s it going? Yeah, we just left the park. I’m gonna make quesadillas for dinner. I would’ve preferred tacos, but I forgot to set out some ground beef. What are you up to? Sorry, hold on Mom for just a second,” I said in a winded voice.
“Kids, I’m on the phone with Grammy, so please use your inside voices,” I patiently pleaded.
“Thanks Mom, I’m back. So you were about to say…”
“I just took Lexi out for a walk and had a thirty minute conversation with Dorothy. I’ll be taking her to her eye appointment tomorrow in the city, so that means we’ll have to leave at seven since it takes us about fifty-five minutes to get to that part of town. There’s no traffic for the thirty minutes of winding desert roads out of Borrego Springs, but once we hit the highway, then you never know.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve been out walking Lexi. She’s such a sweet puppy. And, that’s great that you’re helping Dorothy out. I bet she’s so lonely since her husband died. She seems really strong, like she’s going to pull through this.”
“She is really tough, so I’m sure she’ll be okay. But it’s hard to know how to help. I know I can only pray for her and try to be her friend,” she said in a tender voice.
“You’re doing a great job just by being her friend, Mom. Hey, if you feel like driving up after her appointment, you could swing by for an early dinner with us. You could even spend the night. I just bought some organic French Roast coffee that you’d love and we could make some cranberry scones in the morning.”
“Well, I’m way behind in our book-keeping, so I’ll have to postpone our next visit. Jack has been working so hard at the business and I hate to leave him alone,” she commented with concern.
“No worries Mom. I just miss you and hope we can hang out sometime soon. We just got home and I have to unload the munchkins. Can we chat tomorrow?” I pleaded.
“No problem Honey. I love you so much. Just give those kids a hug and a kiss from their Grammy. And tell them I love them,” she requested in a calm manner.
“Sure thing Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for calling.”
I hung up the phone. And five minutes later, we arrived at our house and the chaos of the dinnertime hour kicked in with a fury. The dogs begged for their food. Jake and Grace argued about the Wii controllers while Katie changed out of her Snow White outfit and into her Cinderella dress.
Labels: excerpt #7, Stream of Consciousness
