Monsters
I grew up on 10 acres of wooded land on a lake, ten miles outside of a small town. When Dad & Mom moved us there, we had lots of snakes---rattlers (We lost our collie Lassie to one of those), water moccasins, an occasional coral snake, and a wide variety of harmless (if scary) black snakes, rat snakes, garden snakes and an occasional scarlet king. So it's no leap at all to guess the monster of my childhood was a fear of snakes under the bed. I still remember when we were quite young, anytime my brother or I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, returning, we would dive back into our separate beds from as far away as we could be sure of landing on the bed, surely 2 feet away always, so we would be on the bed before the snakes could come out and strike/bite our bare feet.
When we got older--high school and college, now in our own separate bedrooms, I would still leap the last 12 or 15 inches to the bed out of habit or reminiscence or who knows... Though probably done with a bit of chagrin, it still seemed the right thing to do.
Mom and Dad are both gone now and none of us has lived there in more than 12 years; but I think probably if I were spending the night there again, I would still return to bed that way in the middle of the night. Then I'd lie there listening to the frogs and the tree toads and the crickets and the whippoorwills singing me to fear-free, snake-free dreams.
Monsters in my adult life--there are few, I'm happy to say. The worst of those is probably procrastination. But Hundred and One did such a superior job of writing that one up, there was very little left to say. Except, as I commented to her, that indeed it is a seductive monster about whom my most common response is the rationalization that I work best under crisis or deadline. But I like myself less for making the excuse and respect myself less because I have never learned to transcend its control over me.
My other deep frustration is the futility I, the original Pollyanna, feel about the direction our world seems to be headed with undivertable, lemming-like focus to somewhere unkind, irresponsible, and unwholesome that makes me want to cry.
When we got older--high school and college, now in our own separate bedrooms, I would still leap the last 12 or 15 inches to the bed out of habit or reminiscence or who knows... Though probably done with a bit of chagrin, it still seemed the right thing to do.
Mom and Dad are both gone now and none of us has lived there in more than 12 years; but I think probably if I were spending the night there again, I would still return to bed that way in the middle of the night. Then I'd lie there listening to the frogs and the tree toads and the crickets and the whippoorwills singing me to fear-free, snake-free dreams.
Monsters in my adult life--there are few, I'm happy to say. The worst of those is probably procrastination. But Hundred and One did such a superior job of writing that one up, there was very little left to say. Except, as I commented to her, that indeed it is a seductive monster about whom my most common response is the rationalization that I work best under crisis or deadline. But I like myself less for making the excuse and respect myself less because I have never learned to transcend its control over me.
My other deep frustration is the futility I, the original Pollyanna, feel about the direction our world seems to be headed with undivertable, lemming-like focus to somewhere unkind, irresponsible, and unwholesome that makes me want to cry.
posted by sundaycynce at 4:40 PM
2 Comments:
ughhhhhhh snakes! I know that feeling quite well. NIce job on this weeks(well last weeks) prompt. I saw your comment regarding permalinks. I am not sure you have figured it out yet or not but here is how I understand it is supposed to be done.
1)post your story to your blog
2)find the link to it on the left side of your blog(or right depending on how yours is setup) ex: "monsters" and click it.
3)left click on the address this brings up in your address bar up top.
4) right click and highlight 'copy'
5)open comments at Sunday scribs.
6)rightclick in the comment box and highlite 'paste'.
thats it.
hope this helps,
BD
Wow, BD, thanks. Really! How nice you are to have gone to this trouble to help me----I DO mean that!! However, I think you have boggled my poor mind. I don't remember seeing the title/link on either the left or right side of my final published blog. I am also a very timid right clicker---so much so that I tend to forget there is that second, more powerful side to my mouse. So I am going to have to copy down these steps on paper then either go back to one of my previous blogs and check it out step by step or use them as I post the new one--not written yet. But I do appreciate the advanced technology lesson. I also appreciate your reading and comments on my blogs. SC
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