The Skeleton Holds the Key

Lately the Beast has had its tentacles in my shoulder. It is relentless and ruthless. This is familiar territory because ten years ago I was at this exact same point of misery. Writing and talking are my two favorite things to do and that is how I was able to pry those skeleton-like fingers out of my flesh then and now. Writing helped me to ease the pain and I thought I would share this with you.

Thin lines like spider webs are the only things that
keep the thin membrane that separates my logical
mind from insanity breaking in and letting the ocean
engulf my whole being.
Forty plus years have passed since that
first moment of madness entered my world
when I was too young to know how to
close the door. Now the room is too full and the door is broken.
Rigidity has encased my heart and
the persistent knocking of a welcome friend
long since muffled, falls
on deaf ears.
Oh, solitude is a welcome stranger I cry
but the bricks of my prison walls are
sleeping and my words cannot escape.
But wait, I see the key and it is beckoning
To me like the dancing finger on a skeleton.

(Carma Dutra)

The freedom to use the written word in any responsible fashion we choose is the most precious gift that anyone can possess. I bring this up because about two-thirds of the world would die (and they have and still do) to have this right. I know I am preaching to the choir but I think it is worth bringing up again from time to time lest we get too complacent with ourselves. Just a thought.


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JUROR NUMBER SEVEN

It was quite fitting that Roger von Oech post about the number 12 on the day I began my civic duty as Juror #7. The number seven is a mystic and sacred number in our society.

“Lucky 7” dice, Seven days of the week, Seven deadly sins, Arabians had

Seven Holy Temples, Seven days in creation.

The Hebrew verb for "to swear" means literally to come under the influence of seven things.

Seven Natural Wonders of the World: 1) Mt. Everest. 2) Victoria Falls. 3) The Grand Canyon. 4) The Great Barrier Reef. 5) The Northern Lights. 6) Paricutin. 7) The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Seven Seas: The Arctic and Antarctic, North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean.

Seven-year Itch: The seven-year itch has been synonymous for sexual desire since 1660. Seven-year itch had no sexual connotation when first recorded in 1899, simply meaning "a type of itch allegedly requiring seven years of healing." Influenced by the sense of itch as sexual desire, it came to mean a married man's urge to roam after seven years of marriage, a meaning widely popularized by the Marilyn Monroe movie The Seven Year Itch (1955). Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (Hendrickson, 1987)

Go to this website to find out more about the number Seven. I found it fascinating. http://towerweb.net/alt-lib/seven.shtml

Unlike 12, the number 7 cannot be divided evenly and I am not sure if there is a significance for odd numbers, other than they do exist. Odd or even, left or right. We are always one or the other.

Thank you Roger von Oech from Creative Think for once again providing us with vigorous stimulation for our brains. Every once in a while it is good to get a A Whack on the Side of the Head.

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"10 Ways To Make It Great" Book Review

I just finished reading Phil Gerbyshak’s book, “10 Ways To Make It Great!” Phil’s enthusiasm stands out on each page and he has equipped the reader to become an active participant by making the book not only motivational, but also a daily work book with spaces for notes and goals. This is the type of book you don’t put back on the shelf after you read it. You will carry this book around with you for quite a while.

Phil redefined my definition of what it means to answer someone with the word “Fine” in response to the question How are you? In the past when I would answer Fine, I felt confident that no one would pry any further as to my condition or feelings. In other words, answering with "Fine" was a way to put up another wall to keep people out. Read 10 Ways To Make It Great and find out what is wrong with being "Fine".

10 Ways To Make It Great also sheds insight into the type of person Phil Gerbyshak is. He definitely is a Woo person but you will have to read the book to find out what a Woo person is.

Chapter 10, Finish What You Start, really spoke to me because I can start a lot of things but finishing is another story. Phil gives me the tools to help make my biggest fears more manageable and doable.

All in all 10 Ways To Make It Great is just that. It is Great! I recommend you experience Make It Great and get this book.

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This Egg IS For You

Found on Flickr

You are familiar with Easter Egg hunts, right? How many of you have or do color hard boiled eggs with your children or grandchildren? Show of hands please. Ah ha! Just as I thought. You all are familiar with the ritual and I will tell you that the lesson you should learn about egg coloring with small children is usually learned in hindsight.

For instance, coloring eggs with my children when they were between the ages of 6 to 9 was not a favorite thing to do. The preferred solution for me would have been to buy plastic eggs and fill them with candy but that was more expensive. Also, what 4, 5, or 6 year old wants to eat hard boiled eggs? They will sit in your refrigerator evocative from last months Easter egg hunt, complete with twigs leaves and all and rot before you get a chance to use them in your lunches.

In reality, coloring eggs is not about coloring eggs at all. It is about family relationships. It is about that rare moment when your five or six year old looks up at you and says “Mommy (or Daddy), I’m going to color this egg for you”.

I was reminded of this special tradition today as my granddaughters, four and six, colored hard boiled eggs with me. I didn’t want to make a mess and I didn’t want to get out six cups filled with water while my little ones dipped eggs with the little wire holder that is sized for miniature chicken eggs. Ha! I didn’t want to watch them spill the colored water all over as they spooned the color over the egg. Right at that moment, my six year old granddaughter looked up at me and said, “Grandma, I’m making this egg for you.”

Methaphors For Fun

I love metaphors and analogies and I would like to share some of my favorite accidental assaults upon the English language from Anguished English by Richard Lederer. It is Wednesday so we all need to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine for all of our needs.

It's time to grab the bull by the tail and look it in the eye.

Let dead dogs sleep.

When we get to that bridge, we'll jump.

I wouldn't be caught dead in that movie with a ten-foot pole.

The slowdown is accelerating.

Then there are the mangled headlines.

Grandmother of Eight Makes Hole In One

Doctor Testifies in Horse Suit

Eye Drops Off Shelf

Organ Festival Ends In Smashing Climax

Sisters Reunited After 18 Years in Checkout Counter

Some of these metaphors and headlines can also be good writing prompts.

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Brand Me Baby!

Branding has surfaced as a topic on a few blogs I have visited recently and I could’t help but think about possession. When a company brands a product, that means the company owns the product, but what happens when the brand is a common term? For instance the term “writer”. Obviously this term/word is public property. It is not enough to say “I am a writer” because we need to clarify what kind of writer we are. As writers, we brand ourselves and our businesses individually. In other words, we create a product. What is your product?

My product is words. How do I brand words? They are free (individually) for the taking, abusing, training, creating and brilliance. Therefore, we strive to create a (logo) trademark that will enhance our brand, so when readers are surfing around, our most creative, brilliant, blog will jump out and grab them by the mouse. We only have about ten seconds to do that.

Recently I checked my rating and considering that there are millions of blogs, I think a rating of 494,392 is not bad. It’s not in the top 10 for sure, but it’s not in the millions either. I was encouraged. There is no where to go but up.

Mike Wagner did a great post on branding and came up with some thought provoking ideas. My favorite is that the customer (our readers) own the significance of our brand. In other words, what our brand means to the customer is most important.

"Wise brand owners know they might own the original ideas, vision and
meaning of their brand, but the significance is something customers
own."

We give birth to our brands from our collective life experiences. I like what Mike says about it.

A brand in this sense is much deeper than just what is manifested. It’s the sum of all the cultural and knowledge-based memory archives of a company with a dose of communications and constant awareness of the future — of work and relationships.

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Test Your Gullibility

I am going to repress my urge to give a history lesson on the origins of April Fools Day. I am a history buff and do like to get to the bottom of things. In light of the "light heartiness" of this holiday, (it used to be celebrated as New Years Day")...Oh, I said I wouldn't do this.

However, I didn't say I wouldn't give a test. Test your gullibility with the April Fools Quiz. I got nine out of 16 questions correct. Not very good but pretty typical since I used to be known as "Guppy".

Click here for the Quiz

You might get a kick out of reading the 100 top April Fool hoaxes at http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/P10/

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