I Wonder What This Story Is About

Zane often leaves his toys strewn about after a day of play, and when I am not stepping on them, I try to imagine just what sort of shenanigans his toys are involved in, at least when Zane is playing with them.  Sometimes I take pictures. 

"So Thor and Arctic Batman walk into a bar..."

"Arctic Batman and his friend Brontosaurus decided to fly to Vegas for the weekend, and they ran into Thor at the airport..."

"Brontosaurus was actually a world class airplane pilot, but Thor and Arctic Batman thought he was stealing the plane and tried to arrest him..."

"...And they all headed off to the nearest karaoke bar, to sing some Three Dog Night songs and drink peppermint schnapps."

You know, I was much better at this imagination thing when I was a kid.  I probably should have written some of those stories down. 

Also, Thor appears to have put on a little weight. 


****This was a NON-Valentine post!  Mostly because I ate all of the chocolate in the entire house.  But still...

Imaginations can Run Amok

I know a lot about Star Trek. I know next to nothing about Star Wars. I only barely know who is on which side of the conflict. I certainly know nothing about the tech. But that doesn't mean that I can't improvise.

"Mama what's that robot's name?"

"George. His name is George." I never said that I improvised well, just that I could.

My son gives me the "look". The one that says "Come on! Do I look like I'm buying that bridge?" I get that look a lot. Zane turns to his father.

"Daddy what's that robot's name?"

"That is C456PO, and that is C3PO's original prototype from a short film made by Lucas in the sixties." Larry says all that stuff with a straight face.

I give him the "look". He shows me the Wikipage. I throw his laptop at him.

I can remember playing with my dolls as a kid; giving them pretend food, dressing them up, making a 'house' using chairs and a blanket, and all that girlie stuff. Using my imagination for good, instead of evil. I never thought about boys doing that very same thing. Zane is just getting into Star Wars. We watched the movies. Zane has some action figures from the movies. He seems to enjoy playing with them in the same way that I played with my dolls. (action figures are not dolls, I have been warned not to go there. I will refrain. For now.)

Zane has Darth Vader in one hand, and Luke Skywalker in the other. He has them "standing" on the ottoman. There's the 'pew-pew' sound of pretend shooting.

Darth Vader: "Nanny-nanny boo boo! You can't catch me!" *Darth breathing sounds*

Luke Skywalker: "Give me my light saber or I am going to bump your head!"

"Something stinks! Chewbacca, you a poopyhead! That is not nice!"

See, if George Lucas would have used THAT dialogue, the movies would have won many Oscars. Emperor Palpatine has many opportunities to yell "Nanny-nanny boo boo!" on the Death Star alone! It would be a first for a character to win an Oscar for saying "Nanny-nanny boo boo!"

The Perfect Reading Chair

The very best place to read is a chair.

Not just any chair, however.

A person would not be able to read comfortably sitting in a 14th century replica of King Patooie the 221st's throne, for instance. Nor would it be a good idea to try to read anything while sitting on a chair made out of nails or porcupine hide, unless you like that sort of thing. No, it takes a very special chair for the ultimate reading experience.

When we were all children and learning to read, we were wide-eyed and adventurous with our reading material. Therefore, the perfect reading chair must be so very large that it makes an adult feel small, like a child. The kind of chair where a person can curl up in a ball, or dangle their swinging legs over the edge while they read. A chair that was made to sometimes share with a friend so a book can be read together.

A very BIG chair, in other words.

One of my greatest disappointments as a child was reading Where The Red Fern Grows and not having the right chair to soothe me. A desk chair just doesn't have the same feel. Some stories, such as To Kill A Mockingbird or Lord of the Flies, might also reveal parts of ourselves that are secret, hidden away from even our own eyes. At that point, a hug might be very reassuring. This perfect reading chair should be overstuffed, enveloping the reader in a soft, comforting embrace.

The perfect reading chair must not be a dull color. It is supposed to be special, unusual, and unique.

Beige is not worthy.

White won't cut it.

Black is definitely out.

An iridescent blue the color of a waterfall?

A green the color of dragon's scales?

A purple that is an exact match to a rare Amazonian carnivorous butterfly? Perfect. My favorite would be the purple, just because I like the idea of a carnivorous butterfly.

Nothing ruins a reading experience quite so suddenly as the rapid disintegration of a chair leg. This perfect reading chair must have the sturdiness to carry the reader forward on their journey of exploration and discovery. It should be able to withstand rocketships blasting off, cattle stampedes through the living room, and broadsword-flailing Beserkers charging the shore.

When our imaginations are fired up, ready to pull us into the pages of the book we are reading, our efforts may be extinguished if all we have around us are walls. The perfect reading chair would be situated next to a big window, which is a natural imaginary doorway and an easily identifiable beacon to bring us home again. There should be a lamp next to the chair, so we can continue reading even after darkness chases the daylight away. And finally, there should be a little table next to the chair, where the reader might place a glass of water or other libation, for traipsing through the desert with Lawrence of Arabia leaves one with a powerful thirst.

A BIG, comfy, purple, sturdy, chair is the very most perfect place to read.

I have yet to actually see such a wondrous chair in my life, but I am sure that it exists. I see it in my dreams often. I know that one day it will find me. It may even be stalking me now, waiting to leap out of the purple sage in my yard and pounce on me when the next box from Amazon arrives at the door.

Writing by Prompt

Writing prompts are sometimes used by writers when the well of ideas has run dry. There is nothing wrong with that. Even Stephen King has had days where he sat in front of his typewriter and stared blankly at the sheet of paper.

Writing prompts can be viewed as tiny seeds which contain the germ of an idea within them. From each seed, a different flower will grow. Beautiful.

Some of us also like to stretch ourselves a bit through writing. We want to be the tail on the kite, instead of the string. Writing prompts can help with this. New characters, settings, or even a different language--writers want to stretch our imaginations beyond our narrow view of life. Because that is where the meat of the world is. The big ideas.

I often find myself fiercely staring at a blank computer screen, hoping that my brain waves will generate some sort of miraculous blog post that will cure cancer and julienne potatoes and solve the national debt problem.

On these days, I can barely write my name, never mind a blog post.

The fire that was my imagination has gone out, leaving me in darkness.

On those dark days, writing prompts are a spark to light the fire of the imagination. The very light needed to germinate those seeds

So thank you to those people who provide some writing prompts for the rest of us. I appreciate you!

As soon as I figure out how to do it, I will be linking to those blog posts that I have which were generated by writing prompts, so everything will be in one area. Eventually. I am a slow learner, technology-wise.