The third cup 8/31

Sunday, August 31, 2003

Hi neighbors. Take time to enjoy your coffee this morning. There will be plenty of reasons to hurry up tomorrow. While you can, just look around and take note of what's going on. This is Labor Day weekend. Meaning, of course, no one labors who can get out of it. This weekend has become the traditional farewell to summer. After this holiday, America turns its eyes toward autumn, school, winterizing the home, and believe it or not, Christmas shopping. In times past, it was the opposite. People were more active in the summer and rested up in the winter. Now we play as much as possible all summer. When winter arrives and outdoor play is limited, we dig into work. We feel we can make our own rules as we have heating and air conditioning to control our environments. Well, maybe that's so. But what if our environment changes? From what I've seen, it just might. Take this summer for example. Like India during Monsoons, we have had a drought for months and then "bam!" a deluge for days. Maybe we are moving into a weather pattern of wet and dry seasons, not hot and cold ones. Or maybe it's just Missouri. I'm trusting that somewhere weather historians are keeping records of the trends. Hopefully people with better memories and better record keeping skills than my own. Being observant is a good thing, but relying on memory alone isn't. The twin skills of seeing and noting are priceless. However, a several thousand page missive the size of Iraq's report on chemical weapons, isn't usually needed. Most of us get by with a sticky note or two on the fridge to jog our memories and help us remember things we've noticed or need to do. Perhaps it is only we more "Monkian" obsessive/compulsive types who keep two lists in each room. One marked "Need to Do" and the other "Need to Get." I tell myself it is more because I'm a writer than being neurotic; although there are those who might argue there is no difference in the terms. Two things I've nurtured in my life since I've started writing are looking and noting, which hopefully evolve from brainstorming and filing into interviews and deadlines. Any writer must be a good observer. A reporter must keep thorough notes. They should be dated, and filed by subject matter. That's easy. It's when you start dealing with future possibilities that things get tricky. With the constant fear of "story starvation" I look with fresh interest at everyone around me. I pour over club announcements, upcoming community events, school calendars, and changes in local businesses. This is the "observation" part of the job. Or as my son used to call it, "Mom's seek and destroy missions." Not that I destroy things mind you, but if I find something that might make good copy, I splinter it for all possible ideas. Although not a "breaking news" reporter, I do find myself judging every event in my life as either news worthy, column fodder, or well, not. The "nots" usually end up in the family scrapbook as history or genealogy items. If nothing else they get filed. This last year I've joined several committees and clubs. When there is something pertaining to them in the paper I clip those and file them. This brings me to the "noting" aspect of being a writer. Keeping an organized file cabinet of potential story ideas is like stockpiling toilet paper. It's not going to get old setting on the shelf, and you know you will eventually use it. Not all my files are that organized unfortunately. Since I also write fiction and poetry, creative ideas may be noted on scraps of paper, cafe napkins, index cards, backs of photos or scribbled in notebooks. Oddly enough, almost any event worthy of one avenue can be used in some form in others. That's when cross referencing comes in, but that's another story. Until the next time friends remember; whether you write or not, being observant, and sometimes a little nosy, is good. Taking the time to jot down what you see is even better. The best part is, you can do all this while sipping your coffee.