Art and Poem: Serenity

Meditation

Serenity (Haiku)

I

In my busy life,

I rarely have time to sit

and contemplate things.

II

So when the chance comes

I take deep breaths and focus

upon my blessings.

III

Family, friends and

the chance to use my pen to

make a difference.

IV

So no matter how

stressed I feel at times, I try

a new perspective.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

And the Stories You'll Write! (Part III of III)

Now that you have ideas and characters, when will you ever find the time to jot anything down?!


Here's how my summer days usually run (and this is subject to a lot of changes):


6:30 AM Kids get rowdy, time to get up.


6:45 AM Coffee, prepare Christina's snack and backpack for summer school


6:45 AM Michael comes downstairs, messes w/my laptop. Anything not saved is lost. And yes, I locked my keyboard, but he yanks the power.


6:45 AM Baby Sarah demands breakfast, usually cereal. Also breakfast for everyone else.
(reboot laptop,unlock keyboard, retrieve the last saved thing I wrote, jot down a word or two, save)


7:00 AM Time to change Christina out of jammies. Involves chasing her down, trying to clothe a wriggling body, tangled hair and all.
(unlock keyboard, jot down half a paragraph. Maybe)


7:10 AM Change/clothe Michael and Sarah


7:20 AM Bus comes to the door, about 10 minutes late, but on time for us. Hustle Christina and her backpack out to bus, kiss her goodbye.


7:22 AM Return to find laptop messed with again. Reboot 2nd time, unlock keyboard, retrieve saved manuscript. Put on Wiggles DVD, maybe 15 minutes uninterrupted time to check E-mail, Twitter,Facebook, etc.


7:30 AM Not quite 8 minutes, phone call. Is Mum friend who needs to vent about hubby, kids, life in general. Extricate myself from conversation, using  Baby Sarah's toxic diaper as excuse. Find laptop needs 3rd reboot. Lost e-mail reply, have to redo. Multiple windows open on laptop by this time.


And this isn't an hour into my day. Try writing with 3 kids in tow, but my point is: even if it's a few words, a paragraph...I squeeze in writing whenever I can. Even in a hectic schedule like mine, those few words add up over a while. The couple of lines while waiting in the pediatrician's office, while the kids have lunch, and during playgroups. And away from the keyboard, I'm constantly rewriting, editing, dreaming up plots in my head.


Take everything you see in your life, people you see, places you go to every day, and write, even when life seems to interrupt your "writing time". Be persistent, and most of all, be flexible. And you'll see the little pieces add up after a short time.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Ah, the People You'll Meet (Part II of III)

Sometimes a chance encounter will spark an idea for a character or two. You could be standing in the lunch line in the cafeteria or at the grocery store. You  could be walking around the Mall or the track. Each person brings his or her own story and perhaps you might hear a little bit of it.


Yesterday, I met a gentleman at the used bookstore. His brother ran the store, and he was visiting from Daytona Beach, Florida. As I put the kids in the van, he told me that he and his companion had enjoyed their stay in Charlotte over the 4th of July weekend. He asked me where I was from (and I get that question a lot). My parents are from the Philippines, but I was born in England, married to a Southerner and mum to 3 kids. When I mentioned the Philippines, he immediately told me the story of his cousin, who married a mail-order bride from the Philippines in the 40's after World War II. He introduced me to his companion, who was originally from Alaska.


She seemed to be a nice lady, with the weathered brown skin of an Aleutian Eskimo and pretty dark eyes. She complimented me on how my son and baby daughter were so beautiful. She told me that she and her companion had been together for 28 years (not married, said the man, just together) and that they were on their way back to Daytona Beach. We didn't talk long in the hot sun, but the couple made a definite impression on me. I had all kinds of questions I didn't have the time to ask: What was he doing in Alaska? How did the two meet?  What was it about him, that she would leave Alaska for Florida? Did they have any children or grandchildren? Were they retired in Florida? What were the stories of their youth?


The spark for a story. Look around at the people around you, ask questions and listen to their answers. Or answer those questions yourself, make up a background or personal history. Pretend that two of them met in a certain setting and have them interact. What happens?


The places you go, the people you meet...

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Part I of III)

This morning, two of my kids and I ran errands all over Charlotte. I drove down several roads and took routes that were out of the ordinary for me, just by virtue of where we ended up in the city. As we went on our way, some unique store signs caught my attention.


"Situations" was the name of a bar on Tryon Street. Now THAT was a strange name of the pub. My author persona immediately asked, "What kind of situations happen at this pub?" Bar fights? Happy Hour? A place where two people find their respective soulmates? The site of a covert operation?


"Pet Store: The Last Place on Earth". No joke, that was the sign in front of the store. Why was it the 'last place on earth'? It specializes in otherworldly companions? If you can't find it on Earth, you'll find it there? It has an underground bunker, in case the world comes to an end, with enough supplies for Man's Best Friend too?


On our way to the used bookstore on Central Avenue, we drove through Plaza-Midwood, an area of historic houses. One house sported stone lions at the door, another had a huge rock face in the front yard. Think Easter Island statue. A white picket face encircled another house, and a fourth house looked like a huge castle painted yellow, complete with turrets and white trim. I almost expected to see a suit of armor on that front porch.


The way home was just as interesting. Charlotte has a railyard just outside Uptown, and there's an overpass that gives you a clear view of the trains, the tracks and the various buildings in Uptown, including Bank of America and Wachovia. The contrast between the old and the new was pretty striking. Aging, rusting train cars with the sleek, glass-enclosed bank headquarters.


Go out and see what's out around you. You might find the setting of your new writing project or have the spark of a new plot.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Post Fourth of July Perspective

Yeah, it's Tuesday. Christina's back at at school, Hubs is back at work, and it's back to normal. Whatever passes as normal over here.


It's been an okay holiday. We took the kids to various parks and playgrounds in the area and to the YMCA Splash Park yesterday. The kids loved it...Christina took to the water like a fish. Michael was OK once he got used to the sounds and the feel of the water. Sarah's still reserving her judgment. An active weekend really suited them, but it was on our terms. Usually we're visiting family for 4th of July, but we weren't rushing all over the place or travelling long hours. Robert introduced the kids to sparklers in the backyard and we saw some fireworks.
Of course, four days with the husband home was OK, but I was rather glad he went back to work. I could only take so much of his "let's do what I want to do for four days".


Celebrating 4th of July post-kids is definitely different from pre-kids. One year, we went up to Lititz, Pennsylvania. It's a small town, but their fireworks display is spectacular. (In fact, I heard that the town budget is geared mostly for the light show) The year we went, the organizers put an old computer in the center of the field. We were both wondering what was going on, but then the announcer explained what had happened the year before. A computer glitch had delayed the fireworks for several hours. They had a new system, but there was a question of what to do with the old system.


They blew up the old computer to the cheers of the crowd and that started their fireworks show. Problem solved.


Did I mention that was an awesome show that year?


At the other end of the spectrum, I attended a celebration at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house in Charlottesville, Virginia. TJ was the 3rd American president, the writer of the Declaration on Independence and the founder of the University of Virginia. I had worked in the Monticello Education Department (teaching school kids about TJ and Colonial Virginia, the Revolutionary War, etc.). By coincidence (or design?), both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams (2nd American president) died on the same day, July 4, 1826.


Every year, they had a Citizenship Swearing-in Ceremony for new American citizens and a solemn celebration at TJ's tomb at the Jefferson Family Graveyard. Having helped people gain the citizenship, I can appreciate the time and effort it takes to do it. My mother had to learn the preamble to the US Constitution by heart, know all 3 branches of government, and other aspects of American government. I spent hours with her going over information, facts that I'd taken for granted, having lived in the US for so long. To Mom, it was learning something completely new.


I became a US citizen myself when I was 15 (though technically, according to the British government, I'm also still a UK citizen, since there were no British officials present at the time/didn't give up my citizenship on British soil. Kinda surprised when I found that out.).  Seeing these new citizens being sworn in at Monticello brought back memories of watching Mom taking her oath, more than 25 years ago.


Still, it was good to celebrate the 4th with family, and remembering just how special this day is for everyone in the USA.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Stories from the Hairdresser, the Coffee Shop and Other Places

Yeah, I finally got around to cutting my hair today. I chopped off about 4 inches worth. The hairdresser asked me, "Are you sure you want to cut so much off?" I said, "North Carolina summer. It'll grow back in time for winter." So yeah, shoulder length and layered. MUCH cooler and easier to take care of. With 3 kids, I don't have time to fuss with my hair. Grunge Mum 101.


We chatted while she did my hair about everything. Busy times/slack times in the hair salon (high times: prom, Easter, Christmas, weddings. Low times: NASCAR races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Seriously. Everyone's at the track. No one can park at the Mall.) Interesting clients. Learned a lot about daily life as a hair dresser. Kids bouncing on mattresses and dancing to Spongebob and the Wiggles.


Filed the info away under "Possible character". Even while I'm getting 4 inches lopped off at the salon, I' m still watching and listening. Yeah, the writer in me is always on the lookout for possible inspiration from real life. They say that sometimes Real Life is stranger than Fiction, and that's absolutely true. Real Life can inspire fiction. Being a writer requires you to watch and listen...you never know who or what will inspire an story.


Coffee houses are also good places to find writing sparks. My favorite place is called Jackson's Java, an independent coffee place just down the road from UNC Charlotte. It's a college hangout, and during the year, all sorts of people drop by. I'll jot notes to myself in my notebook and maybe do a quick sketch or two of a cool set of teacups they have on sale, or maybe a bottle of coffee flavoring.


Just watch, listen and find inspiration for your writing. It'll come from the most unexpected places.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

O Canada!

Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends!

In honor of Canada, here are the lyrics to the national anthem:

O Canada! (English Lyrics by Robert Stanley Weir, 1908)

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

French Lyrics by Adolphe-Basile Routhier, 1880)

Ô Canada!Terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

*****

And an original poem by me in French:

Le Canada est plus:

nettoyer les rues

pas de graffites

gens polis.

Est plus:

sirop d'érable

bacon

neige.

Est plus:

Hockey

Gendarmerie royal du Canada

et de ceux qui disent "Eh?"

Un pays est plus que le stéréotype

C'est un peuple de beaucoup de coleurs,

de nombreuses langues,

et le coeur.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010