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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2008 22:19:39 GMT -6
It is said that Ernest Hemingway was once asked if he could write a story in only six words. His completed story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
A friend told me about a book she was reading titled, "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure". Famous and ordinary people were asked to sum up their lives in just six words.
It sounded fun; I flipped through it and found some in just a few pages that stuck out in my mind:
"Where the hell are my keys?"
"Dead mother watching; don't do it."
And from Joan Rivers, something like: "Doctors lied. Sex not better post-hysterectomy."
So could you do it? Describe your life; write your memoirs using only six words?
Mine would change, I'm sure, depending on my mood. Today it would probably go like this: "Queen of Melodrama. Daughters coveting crown."
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 23, 2008 22:38:12 GMT -6
I Came . . . I Saw . . . I Left . . .
If I'm gonna be bored, I'd rather be bored at home. I can read, watch TV, write, listen to music, compute, eat, go to bed, etc. I guess I inherited my dad's anti-social behavior. If I go somewhere and feel like a fly on the wall . . . a wallflower . . . an observer only . . . I go home as soon as I can duck out.
I hated hanging out in parking lots or cruising the backroads as a teenager. I preferred to stay home. Funny, but usually when I went out, nothing happened, and when I didn't, everyone would tell me all these great things that I missed out on. Unfortunately, the fun was few and far between, and I bore very easily. I get called 'Dirty Sally' a lot because I'm more or less a hermit.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2008 22:43:18 GMT -6
Ahhh, so that's where your "I came, I saw, I went home" tag comes from. I've seen it for years, but never quite understood what it might mean.
There's a lot to be said for being an observer. People watching is fascinating, and one of my favorite pastimes.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 23, 2008 23:11:28 GMT -6
Ahhh, so that's where your "I came, I saw, I went home" tag comes from. I've seen it for years, but never quite understood what it might mean.
Yeppers. When I searched my brain for a quote back on the OxyXena board, I started out with a famous quote, but wanted to somehow make it my own, and then "I Went Home" popped up out of nowhere and I was . . . Wow, that is soooooo me. And I've never changed it since. (Well, Joxcee hasn't.  )
There's a lot to be said for being an observer. People watching is facinating, and one of my favorite pastimes.
I had never thought of it like that.
Being short, cross-eyed, and eyes that jerk back and forth because the muscles fight for dominance, I got a lot of teasing and being pushed aside. So when I'm somewhere and only observing, it gets me depressed. Like I don't fit in. I'm not wanted. I don't belong. I feel this way even when I'm somewhere where I'm wanted. Even when I'm with family. So I go home, where I feel I belong.
Maybe I'll try to ignore the little "you don't belong" voices in my head and just try observing as a writer. Get food for thought to use in my writing.  Hopefully those ugly voices will go away. Maybe I'll find a way to replace them with more positive feedback.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2008 23:24:37 GMT -6
Some of the best ideas, Joxie, come from just listening to conversation, even if you are not part of that conversation. A little time spent just sitting on a bench at a mall, on the sidewalk, or in a park; a half hour, or an hour in a coffee shop or not-too-loud restaurant - anyplace where people gather, and you can just sit and watch if you aren't comfortable joining in, can be a wonderful way to observe, and a great 'date-with-yourself'. And why not? No worries about who's gonna pick up the check.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2008 23:27:29 GMT -6
Oh, and as the night goes on, my new self-description in six words is: "Typo Queen. Glad for Spell Check."
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 23, 2008 23:36:13 GMT -6
I have had people tell me the most personal stuff at work when it's just the two of us sitting at a break room table. Silence doesn't bother me. I'm used to being alone with my thoughts. (Comes with being pushed aside and ignored, and from living alone.) But some people just can't take it and will babble the most intimate stuff. I feel embarrassed for them sometimes. And I wonder if it would be appropriate for me to use anything they tell me. I feel like a priest taking confession.  Like I owe it to them to keep their secrets.  
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 23, 2008 23:38:32 GMT -6
Wacko: A Day In The Life
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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2008 23:47:58 GMT -6
Yeah, that's different, I feel. Things said in confidentiality need to stay confidential. I get this a lot, even with customers at the nursery; I can not believe some of the things complete strangers tell me about their lives as we pick out plants for them to take home. I suppose some people feel more comfortable unloading on strangers; a friendly face, but someone with whom you have no attachments may be better than someone you are very close to, who may pass judgement. It can be a relief sometimes to just get something off your chest, and whoever is in venting range is as good as anybody.
Observing though is different. Really watching people; what they do, or say; how they express themselves while talking - gestures, body language and such is extremely interesting. And tiny snatches of conversation can be just as entertaining. This heard by a friend on a recent train ride into Chicago, "he was so damned stupid, it's as if he carried his brains in his shoelaces."
Who the heck knows what "he" did that was so stupid? My friend doesn't - she didn't hear that part of the conversation. But the line stuck in her head. It's here now. Who knows where it'll next turn up?
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Feb 24, 2008 0:17:11 GMT -6
Suggested by a friend...
I love it when "things don't go according to paranoia".
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Post by moonglum on Feb 24, 2008 15:30:43 GMT -6
"Want retirement. Need retirement. Can't retire"
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 24, 2008 23:25:34 GMT -6
Okay, this one isn't personal, so don't get worried. It just popped in my head after I climbed in bed last night.
Firearm For Sale: Only Used Once
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Post by Phalon on Feb 25, 2008 22:58:59 GMT -6
Awww, Moonglum - that's kinda sad. Funny though, in a not-laughing-at-you way.
Joxie - I'm glad for that clarification before your last one!
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 25, 2008 23:51:56 GMT -6
Yeah, I thought I'd better explain that one. I had the 'never worn shoes' on my mind when I went to bed and I thought how sad that was and then I thought about Hemingway doing himself in and this popped in my head. I know. I'm morbid. 
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Post by Siren on Feb 25, 2008 23:58:03 GMT -6
"Want retirement. Need retirement. Can't retire" LOL! I'm with you, mg. Somehow, I don't think I'll ever get there. This one is me, in just six words... "Gosh d*mn it, I'm late again!" |
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Post by Phalon on Feb 27, 2008 1:00:29 GMT -6
BOLL, Siren! Two of my Mom's most often said favorite phrases she used to throw my way were: "You'll be late for your own funeral", referring to the fact that I'm late for everything, and "You'd forget your head if it weren't attached", referring to the reason I'm usually late; I'm always forgetting something. Or maybe she was implying I'd lost my mind, come to think of it.
I never used to be late. Oh, there was a period in jr. high and high school when primping in front of the mirror would take precedence over getting out the door on time, but that's long past; usually now just a quick glance before I walk out the door to make sure I've still got my head attached is all that's needed.
Then I went through my I'd-rather-be-early-than-late phase; that lasted until I was about thirty actually. Then came LX. Followed by BP. I have not been anywhere on time since I've had kids. The first song both of them learned to sing was, "I'm late. I'm late. For a very important date. No time to say 'hello'. Goodbye. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late."
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Post by moonglum on Feb 27, 2008 16:02:15 GMT -6
["Gosh d*mn it, I'm late again!"]
lol Siren.
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Post by Siren on Feb 27, 2008 22:20:19 GMT -6
"Gosh d*mn it, I'm late again!"
It's sad, but true. I am nearly always late. I once read that President Clinton had the same problem, and that his staff said he lived on "Clinton Time" (as opposed to Central Time, Standard Time, etc). I only wish I had kids as a legitimate reason, Gams!
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Post by Phalon on Feb 28, 2008 7:26:42 GMT -6
"Psst....The Girls Are A Cover"
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Mar 3, 2008 1:50:11 GMT -6
Let Dog In, Let Dog Out
(repeat)
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Post by Phalon on Mar 4, 2008 0:45:38 GMT -6
Hey, Scrappy. The dogs want out. <snicker>
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Post by Siren on Mar 4, 2008 8:46:30 GMT -6
Hey, Scrappy. The dogs want out. <snicker> Lol! |
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Mar 4, 2008 23:03:39 GMT -6
*sigh*
Is it really my turn again?
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Post by Siren on Mar 8, 2008 11:03:52 GMT -6
Here's how Okies react to impending wintry weather:
Snowy forecast? Buy bread, milk, Cokes.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 9, 2008 21:54:41 GMT -6
BOLL, Siren. Milk, bread, and Cokes? What happened to eggs? I've never heard "Coke" in the oh-my-god-it's-snowing-let's-run-to-the-store-in-case-we're-stranded-for-days-on-end grocery emergency announcements.
And why isn't chocolate in there?!
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 9, 2008 22:30:43 GMT -6
For Sale: Husband's Ball And Chain
Not personal either. I ain't got no hubby, or a ball & chain either.
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Post by Siren on Mar 10, 2008 22:01:35 GMT -6
BOLL, Siren. Milk, bread, and Cokes? What happened to eggs? I've never heard "Coke" in the oh-my-god-it's-snowing-let's-run-to-the-store-in-case-we're-stranded-for-days-on-end grocery emergency announcements. And why isn't chocolate in there?! I was confined to "just 6 words", or I'd have given you the complete "storm's a-comin'" list, according to my sis and me: bread, milk, cokes, toilet paper, cat food We don't need to buy eggs, Gams. My mom's chickens keep us well-supplied. And the eggs are pretty, too - green, brown, reddish, and white. |
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Post by Phalon on Mar 11, 2008 7:24:49 GMT -6
I guess my winter storm "six words" would be...
I shovel. They plow. I shovel.
The mess the snow plows leave at the end of the drive - ARGH! I do love my winters, but I hope that part is done with for the year.
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Post by moonglum on Mar 11, 2008 14:56:21 GMT -6
I can't feel my toes, again.
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Post by Siren on Mar 12, 2008 21:26:03 GMT -6
Lol!!
These days:
"Don't bother me. The game's on."
The Big 12 basketball tournament is in full swing. And though my Sooner gals lost in the FIRST ROUND *rolling eyes and shaking head*, the Oklahoma State Cowgirls are still very much in it. Woohooo!
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