On the poll, can one resist the idea of irreversible and need for choosing? This reader wants what you most want to write and share, and expects that what you want and write will change, between your categories and still others. I may be atypical, but I don't favour one over the other.
🙏 I suppose it's pretty hard to even say what this falls under. Is it memoir? hmmm... sort of... fiction? well, of course.... essay? kind of... I do like the liberty to completely make things up. This is a newer avenue for me. Anyway, I'm making some decisions on the site now that I'll clear up by end of month.
Part of this is that I have a "backlog" of writing that I'm trying to clear out. Almost all of it is memoir-ish. And I don't want it stuck in my desk, but it isn't necessarily where I'm going. Dunno.... I'm starting to something taking shape that's exciting and a little scary (in a good way).
🤣 Monster. Was. Pretty. Funny. Too. And, wow, didn't the Schedule I drug thing get a response? Honestly, I feel like they should be playing you for the troops in the foxholes. I am never, ever, ever recording anything again.
Pretty true, too, I love those pieces like the children I don’t have! And yeah it really did, thanks so much. I think the trick is to wait until you’re a bit broken from the week and then record at quarter to midnight. I call it empty tank recording. Anyone can do it.
My sister and I once had a conversation about how strange funerals are, and how, instead of a funeral we would put on a production, sort of like a play.
My body would be lowered down in a flowy while dress as if to hover, although in an elegant pose in which I appear to be blissfully asleep, with a breeze blowing through the fabric and my hair… perhaps a montage of the photographs I have taken behind me and someone reads my poetry as spoken word.
Then, at some point things fade to black for an almost awkward amount of time until the lights come back on and I am gone.
It sounds morbid, but at the time of our conversation it seemed perfectly suited to me, like your scene feels perfect for you.
Bella, this is so sweet. I LOVE your funeral, and I hope you invite me. I would like to read one of the poems and control the light switch to get it to just the right level of awkward.
My comment is REALLY unclear. This is a me problem. What I’m getting at is that your note will be relevant to the second half of this post. Possibly posting on Thursday, maybe Sunday now.
It's wonderful. I don't post that much humorous stuff, but I hadn't read it in a long-time and it made me chuckle and I'm closer to the end than when I wrote it. 😀 No monastery worth its salt would have me.
Despite the insisting distinctions it is all fiction, Adam. Just tell us stories. Fuck the stupid demand for high realism, imagining is the closest we can get. Until the very last breath, of which the circumstances and scenery are unimaginable anyway....
The poll question will make more sense when I pick through this. There's a bit of an adventure I'm about to send myself on and I'm giving myself a period of reflection before I jump in headfirst. I can feel something big opening up creatively that will be very hard to step back from once I put it out there.
Haha, I know that reluctance...fear of taking on too big a task... maybe the monk fantasy is that longing for getting to that stage where the big tasks have turned out to be the small ones. And the big ones you now know to be cherry blossoms. Short, perfect and sweet.
Go help me if that ^ isn't the foundation. I know, though, that my brand is really unclear. So, a bunch of subscriptions came out of this, but when I post the second half, half of the new subscribers won't even know it's the same guy. I truly am all over the place.
Ok, you highlighted one of those writer vanity lines that I’m tickled I wrote. It even made me laugh when I reread. 😂 sigh. It may be just the two of us.
Funny funny, and I'm pretty sure you just described a death that's already happened #justsaying. Also, I want 6 black horses with the full pomp and ceremony. Plus a lot of wailing. Plus Tom Waits singing 'ol 55. Easy.
Oh this sweet old monk and his perfect death! Please be certain that iris on the empty tea cup isn’t too clumsy-looking. 😂 That might ruin it all and then like Old Lodge Skins from Little Big Man, death wouldn’t come and you’d have to do it all over again.
That is a scene that i saw as a kid and has never left me. It totally messed with my head. It might be the most anti-Hollywood scene ever produced by Hollywood.
Hmm, this whole death scene sounds a bit familiar. You know how sometimes we wake up from a strange dream and every once in a while , after we think on it , conversations , or a movie watched before bedtime, end up in bits and pieces in a dream. So my question to you; did you watch the 2003 movie, The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise, the night before you came up with this death scenario ? The mountain top monastery . The bamboo rooms . The tea cup.
The cherry blossoms. Oh, the cherry blossoms. I had to go back and find the quote that was one of the best lines of the movie. The leader of the samurai admires the blossoms of the cherry tree and says ; “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your entire life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.” Love that quote. I know, Tom Cruise is missing from your funeral. And I’m not sure where you came up with the farm animal sounds, though the monastery also had a working farm. Maybe thats it. You chose a samurai’s funeral. I can see your attraction to die and be mourned a warrior ‘s death of the highest honor . Ah, but he died by the edge of a samurai sword. Yeah, you may want to re-think that part. I love that movie regardless. And enjoyed your hero’s or monk’s death. Whichever you choose. After all, it’s your funeral.
I threw everything but the kitchen sink in this one, but probably mostly owe the inspiration to old Japanese black and white movies like Seven Samurai and lots of Zen this and that over the years. My fantasy exit is more monk than samurai, but I will take the first spot that opens up when it's time.
On the poll, can one resist the idea of irreversible and need for choosing? This reader wants what you most want to write and share, and expects that what you want and write will change, between your categories and still others. I may be atypical, but I don't favour one over the other.
This is still a helpful answer, too, Kenneth. Thanks.
Gracias. I certainly don't mean to throw a wrench. On the contrary, I like your range and even a certain permeability between "forms"....
🙏 I suppose it's pretty hard to even say what this falls under. Is it memoir? hmmm... sort of... fiction? well, of course.... essay? kind of... I do like the liberty to completely make things up. This is a newer avenue for me. Anyway, I'm making some decisions on the site now that I'll clear up by end of month.
Here's to the avenue. Let it be what you most want
I agree. Flow with it. I'm certainly keen to read more fiction, but be fluid and follow where you need/want to go.
Part of this is that I have a "backlog" of writing that I'm trying to clear out. Almost all of it is memoir-ish. And I don't want it stuck in my desk, but it isn't necessarily where I'm going. Dunno.... I'm starting to something taking shape that's exciting and a little scary (in a good way).
This is perfect. Which of the poll categories does this post fall under? That's the one.
Haha. I have no idea which one which basically means nobody is driving this vehicle.
This. Is. Fucking. Hilarious. Thank you.
And how dare you ask me to choose between those three. Monster.
🤣 Monster. Was. Pretty. Funny. Too. And, wow, didn't the Schedule I drug thing get a response? Honestly, I feel like they should be playing you for the troops in the foxholes. I am never, ever, ever recording anything again.
Pretty true, too, I love those pieces like the children I don’t have! And yeah it really did, thanks so much. I think the trick is to wait until you’re a bit broken from the week and then record at quarter to midnight. I call it empty tank recording. Anyone can do it.
This brought tears to my eyes!
My sister and I once had a conversation about how strange funerals are, and how, instead of a funeral we would put on a production, sort of like a play.
My body would be lowered down in a flowy while dress as if to hover, although in an elegant pose in which I appear to be blissfully asleep, with a breeze blowing through the fabric and my hair… perhaps a montage of the photographs I have taken behind me and someone reads my poetry as spoken word.
Then, at some point things fade to black for an almost awkward amount of time until the lights come back on and I am gone.
It sounds morbid, but at the time of our conversation it seemed perfectly suited to me, like your scene feels perfect for you.
Bella, this is so sweet. I LOVE your funeral, and I hope you invite me. I would like to read one of the poems and control the light switch to get it to just the right level of awkward.
This was, quite simply, brilliant. Pure and beautiful and vivid.
Thanks, Nathan. I'll post the second half on Thursday morning. It's going to shift gears a bit.
Looking forward to it!
Or you stumble on the way up the mountain and are found years later frozen in a ravine with pen in hand but no paper.
Hold that thought!!!!
Unless I write I in my notes it's gone. Can't remember, hard to retrace on the Stack.
I get comments "I really liked that."
That what?
What was the target?
Check emails for a clue.
Aarrgh.
My comment is REALLY unclear. This is a me problem. What I’m getting at is that your note will be relevant to the second half of this post. Possibly posting on Thursday, maybe Sunday now.
Will look for it.
Horrible!!
Your's is ok since it is right below my comment.
Had it been isolate and four days hence I could not have make sense of it.
How bad is it that I LOL’d several times? This was a treat! I’m in awe. Also, I didn’t want to choose between fiction and memoir.
It's wonderful. I don't post that much humorous stuff, but I hadn't read it in a long-time and it made me chuckle and I'm closer to the end than when I wrote it. 😀 No monastery worth its salt would have me.
Despite the insisting distinctions it is all fiction, Adam. Just tell us stories. Fuck the stupid demand for high realism, imagining is the closest we can get. Until the very last breath, of which the circumstances and scenery are unimaginable anyway....
Choice making is utterly overrated....
The poll question will make more sense when I pick through this. There's a bit of an adventure I'm about to send myself on and I'm giving myself a period of reflection before I jump in headfirst. I can feel something big opening up creatively that will be very hard to step back from once I put it out there.
Haha, I know that reluctance...fear of taking on too big a task... maybe the monk fantasy is that longing for getting to that stage where the big tasks have turned out to be the small ones. And the big ones you now know to be cherry blossoms. Short, perfect and sweet.
Go for it Adam...you are able and allowed
Just write what's there and wants to be said.
Go help me if that ^ isn't the foundation. I know, though, that my brand is really unclear. So, a bunch of subscriptions came out of this, but when I post the second half, half of the new subscribers won't even know it's the same guy. I truly am all over the place.
main character energy. The over-the-shoulder no-look raking delivery got me. RIP
Thanks, Van. No monastery worth its salt would have me, but an armchair monk can dream, can't he?
Consider spelling it wrong for authenticity. And so it shall come to pass. Where's the fiction? 😂 That was a fun read!
Ok, you highlighted one of those writer vanity lines that I’m tickled I wrote. It even made me laugh when I reread. 😂 sigh. It may be just the two of us.
Oh, I am positive there are countless others, maybe too shy, too busy, too je ne sais quoi, laughing in silence. 😆
I laughed out loud again and again and again. Perfect.
You are welcome at the monastery anytime. I will not pass before you arrive. Don’t listen to the sandbox gardener.
Funny funny, and I'm pretty sure you just described a death that's already happened #justsaying. Also, I want 6 black horses with the full pomp and ceremony. Plus a lot of wailing. Plus Tom Waits singing 'ol 55. Easy.
I’ve booked Tom and he’s singing Way Down in the Hole.
We better not die at the same time then. Or if we do, we’re sharing a funeral.
Oh this sweet old monk and his perfect death! Please be certain that iris on the empty tea cup isn’t too clumsy-looking. 😂 That might ruin it all and then like Old Lodge Skins from Little Big Man, death wouldn’t come and you’d have to do it all over again.
That is a scene that i saw as a kid and has never left me. It totally messed with my head. It might be the most anti-Hollywood scene ever produced by Hollywood.
Right? Take that Hollywood.
I’m glad to see some confessions of laughter since I’m fairly new here, but this is just crazy funny. Thank you!
If I didn't get some laughs out of this, Tara, I'm a beaten man and I plum give up. 🤪
Whew! 😅 Cuz I’m still laughing.
Hmm, this whole death scene sounds a bit familiar. You know how sometimes we wake up from a strange dream and every once in a while , after we think on it , conversations , or a movie watched before bedtime, end up in bits and pieces in a dream. So my question to you; did you watch the 2003 movie, The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise, the night before you came up with this death scenario ? The mountain top monastery . The bamboo rooms . The tea cup.
The cherry blossoms. Oh, the cherry blossoms. I had to go back and find the quote that was one of the best lines of the movie. The leader of the samurai admires the blossoms of the cherry tree and says ; “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your entire life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.” Love that quote. I know, Tom Cruise is missing from your funeral. And I’m not sure where you came up with the farm animal sounds, though the monastery also had a working farm. Maybe thats it. You chose a samurai’s funeral. I can see your attraction to die and be mourned a warrior ‘s death of the highest honor . Ah, but he died by the edge of a samurai sword. Yeah, you may want to re-think that part. I love that movie regardless. And enjoyed your hero’s or monk’s death. Whichever you choose. After all, it’s your funeral.
I threw everything but the kitchen sink in this one, but probably mostly owe the inspiration to old Japanese black and white movies like Seven Samurai and lots of Zen this and that over the years. My fantasy exit is more monk than samurai, but I will take the first spot that opens up when it's time.