Sliding Otter News, Volume 2, Issue 6, Appreciating the Characters in Our Lives

~Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it: the tree is the real thing~
Abraham Lincoln

I recently asked a couple friends to read my novel in progress. Both thought the story idea was good but the characters were weak. Bob Fussell came to my rescue again and suggested I look up Nancy Kress. I found her book Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint.

Characters populate all the stories we read. The better defined and more interesting the characters are, the better we like the story. Lately I found myself immersed in Nancy’s book about characters as well as reading her stories and watching her characters in action.

Story characters can be drawn whole from the author’s acquaintances, modified from a real person or conjured up without any basis in reality. Some authors stress plot rather than their characters. Others base their stories heavily on their characters’ thoughts feelings and actions. It occurred to me that novels and short stories are not the only place we find characters. Our lives are also full of major and minor characters, sometimes passing briefly through our lives. At other times characters take up residence with us, perhaps for years on end.

In our haste to accumulate more things and to enhance our feeling of security or personal importance, we often do not take time to notice the characters around us. I recall a time in my life when the people I knew seemed more important than what happened around me. At times they still are.

As a child, I visited a series of older people whenever I had the chance. Sometimes it was for milk and cookies. Sometimes I helped them with chores. With one couple, I pored over an ancient copy of Land and Sea with color plates of real and mythical sea beasts. They eventually gave me the book.

All of these people are gone now, but I still remember visiting each of them, even if the stories they told are becoming fuzzy. I still remember the people although I don’t recall just what they said to me or I to them. Some of the people I have known over the years have reappeared in whole or in part in stories I have written. My first childhood love, neighborhood bullies, friends and mentors have surfaced from time to time to again form part of the fabric of my life.

Do you ever think about the characters who have passed through your life, whether recently or long ago, and how they have helped shape your personality. They are part of your context and they have played a part in who you have become.

Life Lab Lessons

• Who have been the main characters in your life so far?
• What minor characters had the most impact on you?
• What good example led you to become a better person?
• What villains have made you vow to never act like them?
• What effect do you have on those whose lives you inhabit as a character? 

 


(Storm Clouds)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Wondering about suicide bombers.
CALLIOPE: What brings them to mind?
JOE: A program I happened on this morning on TV about the psychology of suicide bombers.
CALLIOPE: What was the jist?
JOE: Sometimes cells of people with similar thinking form bonds not necessarily at the behest of al Qaeda or other influence.
CALLIOPE: How do they get to suicide bombing?
JOE: They seem to form tight bonds beyond consideration of family or even strangers and depersonalize others. The group bond becomes the only thing in their life.
CALLIOPE: How does the suicide part fit it?
JOE: If they explained that, I missed it. The program stressed the importance of the group bond but did not address other motivation.
CALLIOPE: Does it make sense to you?
JOE: No. But then I'm not a suicide bomber. It's hard for me to even imagine.
CALLIOPE: Perhaps it is too complex to understand. Once people explode themselves it's too late to explore their motivation.
JOE: I agree. Another of life's mysteries at least for now. Talk with you tomorrow.

 


(Cognac Still)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's on your mind today?
JOE: Suffering?
CALLIOPE: Please elaborate.
JOE: I'd be glad to. As I attended Laney's wake and funeral, I kept thinking of all the suffering he endured over the last few months in particular.
CALLIOPE: Did you have any particular questions?
JOE: I wondered about the point of all his suffering. Was it for any particular purpose?
CALLIOPE: You're not the first person who has puzzled about this issue?
JOE: I know. I have heard quite a bit about it over the years but nothing which adequately explains it.
CALLIOPE: You know that pain signals that something is wrong and needs corrective action.
JOE: I do. Where I get stuck is if nothing can be done.
CALLIOPE: Maybe the answers are just not evident yet and pain is an invitation to the medical community to keep searching.
JOE: That makes some sense. But it doesn't seem to be much benefit to the person suffering.
CALLIOPE: I can't argue there. Somethings are beyond our understanding.
JOE: I realize that. I guess it's just one of life's mysteries at least for now. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Phalaenopsis Orchids)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Relieved.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: Having met the technological challenge of developing new websites and living to tell the tale.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like an accomplishment.
JOE: I like to think so.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I';m taking a little time to enjoy summer.
CALLIOPE: How?
JOE: Carol and I will walk down to the Leroy Farm Market this morning and this afternoon our friends have invited us to bask in their pool with them.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like fun.
JOE: I feel like the world has been passing me by while I became engrossed in my technological challenge.
CALLIOPE: With everything going on in the world it can still be a beautiful place.
JOE: I plan to remind myself of that this weekend. Talk with you on Monday.

Me and my dad talk very rarely and about no much. But we really don’t need to talk, we just understand each other. My dad has been so important in my life. After my mom dead my dad said one thing… we have to do whatever we need to, to make her happy.

And he did, he might have not known always what to say or how to say it but he made sure I was happy. My dad hates to see me in pain and always looks at me as his little girl. Whenever a guy breaks my heart my dad in his fashion always tells me that there are more and that I will be ok. He never faults my tries to be happy or tells me what I want to do is stupid. He picks on me to no end to show me love. And when time goes by without him seeing me he sends me food to let me know his worried.

My dad has kept every time I am in the newspaper on the sun visor of the passage side sit of the car, at times them falling down because someone tries to use the visor for its intended purpose. He also looks in my fringe any time he comes over to check for food.

Dads are an amazing thing, I don’t know if I would have turned out as while if I didn’t have my dad.

wisdom of the moment- "Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best."

     I had time to take a breathe and plan my attack. Instead of wonder how much worse this could get, I changed direction. I went to the local stores and searched for plant seeds. Spring was about to come to my little house. The weather might have different plans but I didn't care. This is a way to focus and plan.  To plot where every plant would go and to wait for the results.

     My kids are an integral part of the planning. First, are there truly kid friendly plants out there? The answer of course is yes. Kid friendly isn't the issue actually. Peas, carrots, corn and the occassional fresh tomato meet with the occassional "Mom can I have another one?" I  have concerns about their welfare however as I imagine  my 17 month old re-inacting Godzilla scenes through the rows of plants.  Things are going to get crushed like the city blocks leveled in the movies.

     For the girls in my life, the pick was flowers. "Mom can we get this one?" or  "OHHHHHHH, thats soooooooo beautiful."  I prefer the sunny disposition of sunflowers myself.(I can't lie, I love johnny jumps ups and crocuses too.) They are rugged and friendly. These guys could survive my son and his antics. For my son, I picked peas and beans. I have never met a kid more crazy about his vegetables. This kid could eat a whole can of green beans at one sitting if given half a chance.

     Just imagine his delight when they are fresh from the garden. Picked as the dew drips from the leaves. Mmmmm. I can taste it now.  The peas will never make it to the kitchen.

     Seeds are a cheap fix to anyones woes. A couple dollars can buy you healthy snacks that will last all summer long. Especially if they happen to be in patio pots filled with Cherry Tomatoes. Yum.

     This year we are going for some larger and more exciting prospects. We have a huge lawn now. My plans for the garden will probably  start small but will end up  taking over an acre or so. Just kidding!! I want to try potatoes, bright lights swiss chard, corn and pumpkins. I have made attempts in the past to try some of these but I never had the right soil or location. This year it will be perfect.

    I can see that the hose will need to be ready and available at all times. Bath time for the babes. I'm not talking plants either. In the past my  daughters have been knee high in the soil and mud. Now I have three that I need to keep  out of trouble. Guess what, the hose will be alot easier.

     I look forward to the joy on their faces as the seedlings emerge from the ground. We will care for them, nurture them, and weed them. ( I have a feeling it will only be me weeding them though.) The kids will rig devices to protect the new plants from the rabbits and other critters. Then we will wait. Wait for the first of the crops. We will share them with friends and neighbors. Ahh. I feel better already.

P.S. Does anyone have a rotor tiller I can borrow? :) This is going to take some help.