Tonight I attended a local writing group for the first time and had a terrific evening. I walked in feeling pretty sad (more on that tomorrow) and by the end of the evening I was laughing hysterically.
We did one exercise where everyone wrote a short paragraph of a story and passed it around the table for each person to add a few sentences. All of the stories started with the same line: “She turned left on Main Street.” It was absolutely hilarious! The thing I liked most about it was that there was no sense of ownership about any of the stories, because in each case I only contributed a few sentences. I could fully enjoy the reading of each one because they were all community efforts and none of them rested entirely on my shoulders (writing fiction has always made me terribly nervous.)
To let you share in the fun, here is the story that ended up in my notebook…
She turned left on Main Street and saw the white car parked in her parking space. The one clearly marked “Reserved for the employee of the month”.
“Son of a bitch” she swore softly. Of course Roger wouldn’t have the ordinary decency to respect something as important to her, personally, as this coveted testimonial to her ability as a personal trainer.
Unfortunately the person who took her space was tired of her constant harassment on the treadmill. Now she had her parking space, so she could walk twice the distance and get some exercise.
Not sure how to handle the fact that the one who took her space was one of her clients, as it were, even one she had thought of as a friend. She decided to approach the whole incident as a matter of “strictly business.”
Then she reconsidered. Fuck that! I AM the employee of the month and I am TAKING MY STAND! She stopped right behind the misparked car, got her golf club from her trunk, and pulled a Tiger Woods wife on the offending vehicle.
The hood popped open, and there, lo and behold, right in front of her was a man with bulging eyes and duct taped hands and duct tape on his mouth. She reached down and ripped the tape off his mouth and he shrieked – AUGH!!
She didn’t know how or why Roger had ended up a prisoner in his own car, but she was sure it had something to do with karma. “Don’t EVER take my parking space again!” she yelled at him, and then slammed the trunk closed again. As she walked away she could hear his muffled yells and felt a jubilant sense of satisfaction.
What fun! Thanks to the WREN writing group for a great evening!
I also have a few other announcements to highlight…
My post “Using Money” was featured as one of the “Top Personal Finance Posts of the Week” at www.personalfinancewhiz.com. Hop on over to his round-up and check out some of the other great articles!
If you’re local, check out the Littleton Food Co-op’s “New Year, New You” event. You can win a variety of self-care prizes (including massage, a gym membership, or a Miracle Coaching session with me!) The entry is simple – just share your new year’s resolution! Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/events/301535059891916/
Didja happen to notice the new look of the site? 🙂 I worked on it over the weekend and it’s not done yet, but I think it’s a lot cleaner than it was before. It’s my own version of “New Year, New You”!
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