Blogging for the last time.

As I write this last blog entry, and this will be my last, I consider all that I have learned from this experience and this class. I feel that classes such as these are designed not only to introduce us to some theory and other points of view, but to get our creative juices flowing. I have been in other classes that have also done so, but never one solely designed to examine the act and art of creating. So it behooves me to list the ideas that I gleaned from this class—the good with the bad, the positive with the negative.

1. A writer needs time to write.
I noticed that I am often pressed for time and when asked to produce something “creative” that is not a good thing. It reminds me of a great short story by an author whose name escapes me about an undertaker who told great stories and jokes. Eventually his stories caught the eye of a newspaper which hired him to be a humorist of sorts. Once the man was out of his work situation, he didn’t have contact with humanity as he once did and his source of material dried up.
I always thought I wanted to write, but I now see why some writers go to the remote writer’s colonies and such. It takes time and solitude to reflect and my mind can’t seem to push the constant barrage of my own classroom material aside long enough to reflect.
I dream of taking a summer place that is quiet and remote and typing away all day until I come up with something grand. I so admire those novelists who are also in the work force while they write. Now I understand why Michael Crichton does not practice medicine today, nor Scott Turow or John Grisham practice law. Tom Clancy quit his job in the business industry to write, but only after he was published.

2. Not all classes are conducive to sharing thoughts and ideas.
I have been in some writer’s groups and classrooms that seemed to electric with the flow of creative energy. I found this class to have a few creative outlets—Dr. Cain’s expert writing—she is a published writer and I enjoy reading and learning from her expertise and stories. When the blogs became more personal, it was a way in which to get into the heads of some of my classmates, because we rarely bantered ideas back and forth in the classroom. The peer edits of classmates papers also provided an insight into other ideas.
I miss the forums where we could share our opinions—this forum seemed to me to be a place to reiterate our reading to our professor—good enough. But I wish we had more time to converse in a relaxed “third space.”

3. Going into the unknown.
I seem to be the slowest student when it comes to the uptake of the theory articles that we read in class. Again, time is an issue. If I could just take some time for coffee and discussion, I think I would understand better. I don’t really have enough time to talk with my co-worker, Erin, since the rare moments we can steal from the high school day is spent discussing how the Expository Writing classroom is going. I so enjoyed meeting with a few of my classmates at the coffee house to discuss an article I found particularly dumfounding. Not only did I come away with a new understanding of the material, but I also made a new friend.

4. Blogging can seem like ranting at times.
Enough said.

Blogging in the Eternal Abyss

Ok, I stole that title from some lines in Garden State, but it feels like that here. I sit in a Starbucks in New York City to complete my online blog to my fellow students back home in Indiana. The music is lively, as are the crowds. I offer the extra seats at my table to whomever comes by and stop once and awhile to chat with total strangers. I know that would appall a few of you. I love it when humanity just washes around me as I sit or stand quietly by and take it all in. The first night we were here a well-dressed man from Denmark offered us the unfinished portion of his dinner, as I am sure he could not fathom leaving so much untouched food on his plate. We talked a little about portion size here in America and I made note that he was fit and slim—something that I am not.

Yesterday we went to the half-price ticket booth to see what plays were available. They ALL were and we stood in a terribly-long, but fast-moving line and spoke to the strangers on either side. As we got within a glimpse of the ticket windows, the sight became a little like a feeding-frenzy. But since our hearts were not set on one particular play, and we were willing to see anything, the anxiety of the moment dissipated. It also helps to be 5 foot 11 inches so one can peer above the average-sized crowd. I ask the couple in front of me what they found out from the ticket salesmen, and they answered with a smile. Single seats for Jersey Boys and restricted seating for Chorus Line. No thanks. We asked about Grey Gardens, a musical about the crazy aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Onassis who became even crazier in their latter years. We got the tickets for half price and lollygagged around the streets until the 3:00 showtime.

This musical was quite an unusual one. It told the story of the these famous relatives of Jackie's in two acts--one in 1941 and the second act in 1973. These two women made the newspapters in the 70's when it was discovered that they lived in their 28-room house in the Hamptons with their 52 cats and mountains of empty tin cans as the house sunk even further into disrepair and squalor. The play starts with a beautiful glimpse into the lives of the rich in the 1940’s as young Edie is engaged to Joe Kennedy Jr. The second half is basically a harsh view of two aging spinsters—Edie and her mother as they fail to feed their cats and go to sleep in beds infested with insects. Did I mention that this was a MUSICAL? Yes, one can write anything and have it play on Broadway. But not to worry, remember I am attracted to the dark and depressing, I just didn’t realize you could set that stuff to music. I love New York.

Today we will buy tickets to a comedy or maybe not. Inherit the Wind is playing on Monday, and most of the theaters are dark that day, so one’s choice of plays are limited. I hope to see the Guggenheim Museum of Art today, and if I have time I will write.