This post is a followup to previous Ampersands cartoons discussions.

My granddaughter had seen my Ampersands on my computer and the other day
she asked me if I had any more Ampersand stories. I did. So I got it up on her
computer and “PLOP” she was on my knee and wanting to read the dialogue
with me. Interesting idea for a parent or for teachers (absent the knee “touching”).

When we finished I asked her if she liked that - of course, she did- it was her idea!
Then she surprised me by indicating she’d like to do it. “Do what?” I said. She had
already written up a “newspaper” in her own handwriting and drawing with the
Ampersands - so that was what I thought she meant. NO, she wanted the
cartoon strip with blank balloons that she could fill in. So for me a new challenge.
How to get them printed out in workable order - - working on it.

My questions for you parent or teacher - Could you make use of such a product-
either a how-to-do-it for yourself or a block of cartoon templates with blank
balloons for the kids to fill in.

Writers? What is in there in this example and model that is of benefit to you?
I would imagine writers for children might find it somewhat interesting but what
about you more “advanced” writers - any use to you?

Take look and tell me what you think. Parents especially - what about this as an
addition to your rainy day activity arsenal? Imagination, writing, storytelling/
speaking, relationship skills, what else can you think of that might be a benefit?
Here goes…

Lunch time in the schoolyard.

What ideas pop into your head? Can you see yourself making use of writing exercise
like this for your children or students?

Writers - are you looking for a product model to develp for a new income stream?

Let me know what you think? I’ll keep at it and learn more about the most efficient
ways to get these cartoon blanks to you (and F*r*e*e!).

Tell me a story, _________, pleeease!

_ Val Spangler

Tweet me @SeniorTweet

For those who suffer from verbosity
Take a lengthy trip in Twitterosity.

It’s not perverse to be terse.
For practice could be worse.

Your wordplay will improve
But discipline I behoove.

It’s hard to get traction
If you live with distraction.

So if you want to be shorty
And stay within one forty.

Don’t Twhirl or you’ll unfurl.
Turn the sound down please girl.

And don’t combine SADD
With this new form called TADD.

You’ll have crossed the border
To Twitter Attention Deficit Disorder,

What it does to your mind
Is rather unkind.

Your life’ll be in shambles
Your writing will be all rambles.

Like this one!

Now don’t be unkind with this wordplay of mind
Just emphasize the “play” when you start your new day.

Good night!

- Val Spangler, Mister Senior Blogger.

If you dare, please follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SeniorTweet

Rabbit Remembered

I thought John Updike was a helluva writer but I didn’t care for his stories.
You’ll have to read others to hear praise for his novels. I respected his care
with words - carefully selected without a lot of fancy flourishe. Good writing.

He wrote of the mundane - bottling little glimmers of life to get at the truth
of it. When there was time to read him, I was not in the mood for the mundane.
That says more about me than about him or his writing. Perhaps I’ll give
Rabbit another chance - but I’ll have to be in the right mood. With all that
I have to do, those times may not come very readily. We’ll see.

In retrospect one of his writings I most enjoyed was a magazine
piece, Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, a tribute of sorts to Ted Williams about the
day of his last game with the Boston Red Sox.

Yes, I am a jock and I was then - one of those always was and always will be.
Even jocks can appreciate good writing. This piece explored the complexities
of athletes, athletic heros and the love/hate relationships that frequently
develop around them. I think that Ted Williams and Updike’s Rabbit shared
some of the same qualities that fascinated Updike enough to write about them.

Complexity. How does one write about complexity and do it simply?
Not easily. You must love to write - to be happy enough to continue to write
nurtured and motivated to continue by even the smallest elements of writing.
Writing because you must write. Nurtured by the process and the smallest
elements of the process. The right word. A turn of phrase. Capturing the
essence of a character, fictional or real, without just describing him or her.
And moving the story along in the process. Turning the page but …
begrudgingly, because you want to savor the writing or the wellness of
the story told.

Yes, John Updike was a helluva a writer but, for me, he was a lot like the
Ted Williams he wrote about. Great stats but he never won a pennant or a
world series of writing for me. However, he was a nicer man than the
“Splendid Splinter”, and he had a writing batting average like Ted Williams.

How can one truly give tribute to a great writer? Simply by writing.
Write what you have to as ably as you can - but write. You may not make
the world any better but you will be better for it. And that’s a start.

You may even enjoy it.

Please follow me on Twitter - http://.twitter.com/SeniorTweet. - @Senior Tweet.

Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu
(Author: John Updike ©. Published: 1960-10-22.  Appeared In: The New Yorker.)

I woke up this mornng with the sleeping wordmeister still in my head. So feeling neologistic I stayed in bed and let my stream of unconsciousness flow. (one simple definition of “neologism” is a newly coined word). This morning I was reminded of one of mine: “viagravation” - the feeling senior golfers get when they can’t watch golf on television without being reminded of their impending or present state of (mind?). Not feeling like getting up, I stayed in bed.

Here, not necessarily in order, are some thoughts from that stream of unconsciousness: a lock of red hair and white wine; caliphate; Pote n Tate (brothers from the Ozarks); “viagravation” (see above); the dullest pencil (is sharper than the sharpest mind - a memory thing) - (damn, I forgot to put my pocket notebook next to the bed again); …

Is ideation easier when you are warm and snuggly or when you are cold and have to move around? Warm and snuggly for me. How about you?

When and where do you get the best ideas?

When and where do you get your best writing done?

Do your ideas come in clusters? Or, must you “cluster” to get ideas?

Can you be a good writer if you only have questions? I had a student surprise me once with his observation that, “What makes you a good teacher is your ability to ask good questions!”. ( I didn’t question his observation Must be I have something in my eye in this morning - I keep winking … or blinking … my way out of “nod”.

Question of the Day: can a solipsistic writer be successful?

You did read the title of this post, didn’t you?

Neologism of the Day: “solipsilly” - being so self absorbed, you can’t be taken seriously.

“Viagravation” came in a close second. However, because I took the time to look up the word “solipsism” I thought I would give the nod to the more serious (;-) neologism. There I go again with that winking … maybe later today, I’ll get more serious. Bet you can’t wait? Silly me.

- Val

PS: My excuze is that my muse is - nocturnal.