writing Archives - Page 16 of 205

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019

Quotables: In a walking life, time slows down.

Time slows down when walking in the woods: image of wooded trails, a view of headed up into the trees.

“When we walk, time slows down, and our multitasking brains rest and reconnect with our creative selves. When we walk, we become something we’ve forgotten during centuries of technological revolution and the race to make our lives ever more efficient and productive–we become more human.”

~ from “The First Step” of A Walking Life by Antonia Malchik

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019

No Right Turn.

I am running late to therapy when, in anticipation of a train, a sign lights up: No right turn, which is exactly where I’m headed. The boom shifts, the gate drops, and I put the car in park. As the freight cars roll past, the sound of metal wheels on a jointed track falls into a pace to match the rhythm of a favorite song on the radio, the lyrics like a siren: home, home, home, and I am there. Home is holding the hand of my daughter on our way to lunch after a few hard days. Home is my arm around my son as he faces away from me, a hug on the run (I’ll take it), my cheek resting on his back. Home is an honest conversation. Dinner for two in the kitchen. A walk together on a summer night. Home is boarding a plane to see family after too long an absence. Waiting for the train, breathing in what is mine, letting go what isn’t, there is more room to notice. To listen to the rhythms of a song and appreciate the road block for the moment, knowing everything around me has purpose.

June 5, 2019June 4, 2019

Found Story: Do not disappoint us.

“One of the most innocent and exquisite pleasures of this life is that of hearing from an absent friend.” ~ from “Introductory Remarks” inThe Useful Letter Writer

Found story image: hand holding a miniature RC Allen typewriter

If you know me, you know I love tiny things.

Last weekend I spent time in a favorite part of the state, found myself inside an antique store, and there discovered a new tiny treasure, a very tiny book.

hand holding The Useful Letter Writer, a tiny book full of found story.

Inside the Useful Letter Writer (“Compiled from the best Authorities,” 1864) is a long table of contents–all titles of letters–full of potential story:

From a Sailor in Norfolk, to his wife in New York,
From a Lady just married to her friend,
On Dueling.

Dear Betty, Dear Eliza, My very dear friend.

And this, perhaps my favorite:

Invitation to a Music Party

Dear Sir,
     On Tuesday we have a select musical party. We shal. feel extremely
flattered if you will favour us with the powerful assistance of your
brilliant talents. Do not disappoint us.
                                        Yours, etc.
Friday evening.

“…say all that you have to say; but say it in as few words as possible.”