Ever wonder how a writer’s perception differs in terms of
events, circumstances and the seemingly insignificant, mundane things of life?
Writers
take mental snapshots of people, events, and places, and we hold them in our
memories, imprint them on our hearts. Years later, I still remember some of
those fleeting moments in time.
One of the most
interesting things I ever wrote was on a tray liner at a Burger King while
sitting in Piccadilly Circus in London as I observed a man interacting with a
series of young women who slid into the booth across from him. It was pretty
clear what his relationship was to those women.
My heart ached for them, and it
opened my eyes a bit to the ways of the world, that so-called “seamy underbelly”
a small-town girl from Indiana had never glimpsed before. Then there was the
bride outside a suburban Boston Marriott, dressed in her finery, running down
the sidewalk alone at midnight. I’ll always remember the abandoned pair or
well-worn cowboy boots in an alley by an abandoned building in downtown Dallas.
These are the kinds of mental images that stay with me. The writer in me knows
there’s a story to be told.
Take the time to
watch and observe carefully over the next few days, and you might be surprised.
One morning on my way to work (a twelve-mile trip across a double-decker bridge
stretching across the Ohio River dividing Indiana from Kentucky), I saw the
following:
*Four
elderly women standing outside the Catholic church, hands clasped together,
waiting until it was safe to cross the street. Reminded me of the yellow
diamond-shaped street sign near our home in Massachusetts that read “Dear
Crossing” with the silhouettes of a “finely-aged” man and woman holding hands
in a crosswalk.
My eyes well with tears when I see these women, as I often do.
It’s their morning routine. They’d been to the church, but I can’t help but
wonder about them. Are any of their husbands still living? How long have they
known one another? Where did they meet? What I see is the deep friendship, the
caring and the protectiveness they share.
*An
older man using a long metal stick, pointed at the end, to pick up trash on the
side of the road. I see him most mornings as I turn the corner onto the main
road from our neighborhood. He does his part to keep that part of the road
clean and litter-free.
But he always looks somber, sad, the lines on his face
etched deep, his mouth downturned. I wonder if he lives alone, how he came to
pick up the debris so faithfully as his daily mission, and what he thinks of
those who throw their trash out their car windows with no regard.
*A
four-car pileup. Didn’t look like anyone was hurt, thank the Lord, but a couple
of cars were most likely totaled. Some drivers waiting to get past the accident
scene were impatient, others bided their time. But almost all were on their
cell phones calling someone to say they’d be late. What did we ever do before
cell phones were invented?
They’ve changed the entire way we communicate. In
some ways, like immediacy, it’s good. In other ways, it’s self-limiting and
perhaps cuts us off from interacting and reaching out to new people.
*A
woman pulling down her rearview mirror and applying mascara as she waited to
turn the corner. I see this a lot. Is this grooming in the car part of her
usual routine? Why would she risk poking her eye with a mascara wand? What
could she possibly have been doing before leaving home?
Is she single, married,
with or without children? Maybe she’d been so busy taking care of everyone else
in her family she hadn’t taken time for herself. Or maybe she stayed up late
the night before and opted to sleep in.
*A
homeless man, a cart loaded with his worldly possessions beside him on a
downtown street, poking in a trash can for leftovers. Puffing on a cigarette.
What kinds of things run through this man’s mind? How does he spend his time?
Does he know about the local mission and nearby shelter? Has he been there for
the night? What kind of daily existence must he lead?
That one’s difficult for
me. It’s beyond the scope of my understanding, but at this point, I do what I
can for him: I pray.
*The Coca-Cola driver unloads his truck in front
of my office building, chatting and smiling with the office worker walking
toward the revolving doors. The man with the Volvo stops to ask for directions.
The group of tourists heads to the Convention Bureau to hear the life story of
Colonel Sanders or the Muhammad Ali Center to hear more about The Champ. The
businessmen and women hurry across the street, wearing nametags, going to a
seminar. The Mercedes and the Lexus, with rushed drivers behind the wheel,
speeding toward the stoplight, hoping to turn left before the light turns. You
know the type—yellow means speed up, not use caution and prepare to stop.
*Multiple school buses, parked in front of the
Kentucky Center for the Arts (where I worked part-time before my writing career
took flight), with children lining up by the front steps, smiling and
chattering, ready to see a special play. They’re happy, full of the innocence
and boundless faith of youth. How exciting that is to see.
Some of these
children might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend a performance here.
It’s exciting for them, and it shows in their body language, their facial
expressions. It makes me smile.
I can see a lot of life, a glimpse of humanity
and its best and worst, in just one trip to work—things I’ll imprint on my mind
and in my heart. Writer or not, we can let the world pass us by, or we can stop
and pay attention and use what we see to stimulate our minds and to enhance and
enrich our lives. Feel the emotion. Glimpse the beauty in life, the hope, and
the joy, to help balance out the inevitable sadness and the loneliness. All the
emotions that make up life.
Author
Bio: JoAnn
Durgin is the author of the popular contemporary romance Lewis Legacy Series. A
standalone romance, Catching Serenity, released in September 2013.
Her Christmas
novella, Starlight, Star Bright, the follow-up to 2012’s Meet
Me Under the Mistletoe, released this past week.
JoAnn lives with her
husband, Jim, and three children in southern Indiana, and she’s a full-time
wealth administration paralegal in a Louisville, Kentucky, law firm.
She’d love
to hear from you at www.joanndurgin.com or her Author JoAnn
Durgin page on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment