Contrast

While on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland last week with my friends Christa and Hildy, we decided to leave the car at our condo one evening and ride the 'Beach Bus.' For $3, we rode the 70 blocks or so from our condo to the boardwalk, then back again after dark. Better than the cheap ride (and the lack of parking fees) was the company we kept. The bus was chock full of people of all ages and races, couples and families, groups of friends and a few individuals traveling alone. Everyone got along, shared seats and jokes and tips about restaurants. We laughed when the bus stopped short, jolting those folks standing in the aisle. We groaned but then laughed and moved on back when taking on even more passengers seemed a physical impossibility. And the bus stopped every two blocks, cramming on more and more people until it began to feel like this. Almost.

But by unspoken agreement, everyone on the bus had reframed the discomfort into fun. We were on vacation and this was all part of the adventure. The temporary trouble wouldn't diminish our enjoyment.
A good side of human nature showing its face. Maybe that's part of why we enjoy vacation spots so much. We get to see people at their best.
The next day, a passenger jet was blown from the sky by a surface to air missile. Some person or persons finding their worst side and letting it dictate their actions, with horrific consequences.
The yin and yang of human nature shown to me inside 24 hours.

What brilliant, stupid creatures we are.

The recurrent theme: gatherings

Last weekend, Michael and I hosted a backyard celebration with a dual purpose - my mother-in-law's 90th birthday and his retirement from Misericordia. Over 70 people joined us for the afternoon of fun and food - a wonderful gathering of friends and family.

Then Anne Armezzani, a fellow writer (and beta-reader for Risking Exposure) invited me to take part in a multiple-author book signing as part of Clarks Summit's Second Friday Art Walk. Authors were housed in the old fire hall, which is currently undergoing a complete transformation. Soon the building will be called The Gathering Place, a community space dedicated to the support of local arts, community projects, and education.

Other authors who gathered for the signing were Gary Ryman, Patricia Thomas, and Suzanne Fisher Staples. Suzanne is instrumental in bringing The Gathering, an annual literary event, to Keystone College.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gathering as: n. 1. an assembly or meeting, especially a social one. 2. a group of leaves taken together, one inside another, in binding a book.
The word is perfect for all of the above.

Hazards vs risks

Over the last year and half, I've been involved in a community project to build a new playground in Factoryville. The completed structure is awesome - including that central tower which stands probably 12 feet off the ground.

So as we worked with Steve Hemmler, a playground designer from Landscape Structures, our concerns about safety and potential risk were paramount. His answer has stuck with me. In effect he said that our job (and his) were to design and build a playground with virtually no potential hazards. But to eliminate risk from the playground design would have meant sacrificing the potential for fun. 

The more I thought about that statement, the more it rang with truth. We all want to participate in activities that are as safe as we can make them. Reducing potential hazards to a bare minimum makes absolute sense.


But virtually any activity which is ultimately fun involves some risk - that's what makes it fun. If an activity is too easy or the outcome is guaranteed simple success every single time, the risk is gone - and so is the joy.



I can apply that same hazard vs risk principle to writing. By never sharing my written work, by hiding it away on my computer, I could have played it safe and completely eliminated the risk of rejection. It would have been completely safe, completely free of the hazard of potential hurt or disappointment.

But it also would have prevented me from experiencing the joy of connecting with readers, of getting unsolicited compliments via email or positive reviews posted by complete strangers.
I'm glad I took the risk and put my work 'out there.' I wouldn't miss this fun for the world.

Six-word memoir

On Facebook, one of the writer-support sites I follow is holding a 'six-word memoir' contest. I've seen these before - the objective is to actually summarize your life, your philosophy, lessons learned, whatever, in just six words. I've also seen contests for 'six-word stories.' Probably the most famous of these stories is by Ernest Hemingway. "For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn." Tells the whole, horrible story, right?

As a writer, capturing a story or a memoir in a measly six words is an interesting exercise in being concise. To say the least.

I enjoyed reading some of the submissions. Some evoke a clear mood:

- I do not belong here people!
- I left a million dollars in...
- I told you I was ill!

Others were clever:
- Your memoir using only six words.

And still others took the philosophical approach:
- I am a child of God.
- Evolving, one word at a time.

Here's mine:
- Support laughter, challenge growth, create faith

What's yours?

Goodreads giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Risking Exposure

by Jeanne Moran

Giveaway ends June 21, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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