Tomorrow, I'm blogging at Brittiany Koren's website "Written Dreams" on her Editing Essentials page.Brittiany is in the business of helping writers achieve their writing dreams.She's both personable and professional--a fabulous combination. Her site is well worth checking out if you are in need of editorial guidance. http://writtendreams.com/index.html
Not so long ago, I was standing in the back yard when an eighteen inch fish fell out of the sky. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or my cat.
I searched the clear blue sky while my cat surveyed the scene from the safety of the garage. I’ve read stories about water spouts or tornadoes that create funnels of water that empty lakes and ponds to later drop the lake, fish and all, miles away. But there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and there was just the fish, no water. The fish was dead, but appeared whole and undamaged. I flipped it over with my foot. Two deep wounds marred the silvery perfection of the other side. Talon marks? As I contemplated the wounds, an angry screech and raucous caws filled the air. An eagle swooped into view pursued by two crows. Everything became clear. I scooped up my cat, who had decided fish falling from the sky was too wonderful a thing to ignore, and headed inside giving the eagle a chance to retrieve its catch. This strange event made me think. How many times had I cast a lure into the lake in hope of catching a fish this size? How many times had my cat stared longingly into the aquarium at the meal that was both too near and too far? I’ve never caught a fish that large and my cat has never caught one of my finned friends. Most of the time things we want don’t just fall from the sky. Most of the time we have to work hard for what we get, thinking we deserve what we get, or even more, because we’ve earned it. But what if it’s all gift? If all we receive in this world in essence falls out of the blue into our undeserving hands. Fish from heaven. Not something harried from unwilling hands, but gift. It makes me think and gives me hope. I am thankful that I don’t always get what I deserve—I have a wonderful husband, five fabulous kids, a sweet, daughter-in-law to be, health and a whole lot of happiness and success. Do I “deserve” it? Can anyone? What are the criteria for that? We all are given things we don’t deserve—health/illness, wealth/poverty, joy/sadness, love/loneliness, success/frustrated desires… If everything (good or bad) is a gift, something given to us that we do not earn or “deserve”, then it’s not what we get but how we handle it that matters. Are we thankful like my cat? “Meow! Fish.” Or do we complain, like I did having to pick up and bury the dead fish when the eagle gave up on retrieving it? Fish from heaven. How we react to life and the things that come to us out of the blue matters. It’s amazing the thoughts a single fish can make trigger. What do you think?Not so long ago, I was standing in the back yard when an eighteen inch fish fell out of the sky. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or my cat. I searched the clear blue sky while my cat surveyed the scene from the safety of the garage. I’ve read stories about water spouts or tornadoes that create funnels of water that empty lakes and ponds to later drop the lake, fish and all, miles away. But there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and there was just the fish, no water. The fish was dead, but appeared whole and undamaged. I flipped it over with my foot. Two deep wounds marred the silvery perfection of the other side. Talon marks? As I contemplated the wounds, an angry screech and raucous caws filled the air. An eagle swooped into view pursued by two crows. Everything became clear. I scooped up my cat, who had decided fish falling from the sky was too wonderful a thing to ignore, and headed inside giving the eagle a chance to retrieve its catch. This strange event made me think. How many times had I cast a lure into the lake in hope of catching a fish this size? How many times had my cat stared longingly into the aquarium at the meal that was both too near and too far? I’ve never caught a fish that large and my cat has never caught one of my finned friends. Most of the time things we want don’t just fall from the sky. Most of the time we have to work hard for what we get, thinking we deserve what we get, or even more, because we’ve earned it. But what if it’s all gift? If all we receive in this world in essence falls out of the blue into our undeserving hands. Fish from heaven. Not something harried from unwilling hands, but gift. It makes me think and gives me hope. I am thankful that I don’t always get what I deserve—I have a wonderful husband, five fabulous kids, a sweet, daughter-in-law to be, health and a whole lot of happiness and success. Do I “deserve” it? Can anyone? What are the criteria for that? We all are given things we don’t deserve—health/illness, wealth/poverty, joy/sadness, love/loneliness, success/frustrated desires… If everything (good or bad) is a gift, something given to us that we do not earn or “deserve”, then it’s not what we get but how we handle it that matters. Are we thankful like my cat? “Meow! Fish.” Or do we complain, like I did having to pick up and bury the dead fish when the eagle gave up on retrieving it? Fish from heaven. How we react to life and the things that come to us out of the blue matters. It’s amazing the thoughts a single fish can make trigger. What do you think? I blogged about popularity at http://kelseyopsahl.blogspot.com/2012/06/guest-post-giveaway-popular-by-laurel.html today. I'd love to hear your comments.
Here it is in its entirety. I received a list of questions for a recent on-line interview and was asked to pick five. One of the questions threw me for a loop. It asked if I was popular in high school. Popular. What does that have to do with anything? Popular. I stared at the question for a long time remembering my high school years. Back then, I was a little awkward, but not horribly so. I was honor roll smart but not valedictorian smart. I dated my share of guys but didn’t fall in love. I had a nice circle of friends, but popular? No. I wasn’t popular by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not sure what it requires to be popular. I didn’t know then, didn’t know when my kids were in high school even though some of them were, and I don’t really know now. Viewed from the outside popular people seem to have a list of characteristics that shouldn’t make them popular, but apparently does. Clearly, I wasn’t looking at popularity correctly. Time to do some research. So, naturally I did what everyone does when faced with one of life’s pressing questions—I consulted musical lyrics. (This is why I love Sondheim’s Into the Woods so much, but I digress.) Wicked has a very clever song on that deals with the question of popularity. In it, I learned that my aptitude wasn’t the problem. It is, I’m afraid, rather a perceptional issue. How the heck does a person change the way she’s viewed? Elphaba required a change in hair style and clothing. Clothing… Hmmm… I have no idea what type of clothing that might be the popular kind. Sporty, classy contemporary, dress casual (whatever that is), or the latest in tart-wear? Clearly I need help as much help today as I did back in high school, though there seemed to be fewer clothing options then. Does this mean jeans aren’t jeans? But back to the song… The list of challenges continued. Apparently, I also needed to hang with the very people I couldn’t hang with because I wasn’t what they were, namely, popular. I also needed to be “good at sports.” No luck there. I may have looked athletic at different times in my life, but trust me, appearances can be deceiving. I think the key might be held in Glenda’s direction to follow her lead. Elphaba became popular because Glenda decided to befriend her and Glenda was popular. Case solved. To be popular, you need to be popular. Sigh. Does anyone out there have greater insight they’d like to share? Trust No One is officially out today. Yeah!
Alaskan bookie has posted a review at: http://alaskanbookie.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-trust-no-one.html And an interview at:http://alaskanbookie.blogspot.com/2012/06/author-interview-with-laurel-bradley.html Check it out! “The pacing was perfect” ~ Stephantois for LASR Mystery (Full review)
“This is a twisting-turning edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, where every secret revealed just adds to more doubt, more lies.” ~Author Renee Wildes "Trust No One…will keep the reader entranced until its very last pages when the bad guy reveals himself.” ~Alice D. for Readers Favorite (Full Review) |
Musings from my front porch.
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