Thank you Uncle Jesse

I truly believe that psychology is a powerful weapon in a writer's arsenal as it helps with the understanding of what you characters go through and how they will act to make your story the most believable possible. I recently ended my most fun psych classes, child psychology. For a good part of it, it was difficult because it brought up a lot of memories - painful and fun. One of the fun memories was what inspired me to write most. I read a lot as a child, but I also spent a lot of time in front of the television. A lot of my stories were never written, but acted out as I created my own world. I wrote later on when I saw others did the same thing in the realm of fan fiction.

As a child, I imagined being in the woods, lost and finding my own paths, never wanting to go back to the life before. Then as people came and went, I would watch them, sometimes help them, but it was more of a modern day Tarzan and the Amazon jungle was actually on my backyard trampoline.

I was the outcast befriended by superheros. No matter what powers they had, they also had weaknesses and I could step in as a friend. That was my power - conveniently being in the right place at the right time.

I was a street rat in Hazard County and getting into a lot of trouble with a mechanic named Crazy Cooter. I hung around his garage, messed his tools, and accidently got locked in the trunk of vehicle headed for the smasher. Yet as this character grew in my imagination, it looked up to Uncle Jesse. If there was one person who could shake their thick, calloused finger, give that stern look, growl and bark their warning with that stern voice, and not be made fun of as he wore the same overalls, red hat, and red handkerchief hanging out of his pocket all the time, that could make my character sit up straight and listen, it was Uncle Jesse. He was the father figure to his niece, nephews, and even their friends,and to many latchkey kids who waited for the right slot time for the show to start, as he ran his farm and kept his land out of the hands of Boss Hog.

These characters still exist and wait to come alive again with new stories to tell. Makes me wish I kept a journal as a kid so I could have written my adventure of the day down. Whether it was trying to keep Philip and Beth together on Guiding Light, fighting Gargamel in the Smurf's forest, wanting to loose myself in the jungle, or steal the General Lee for a joy ride, I miss those adventures. Even if I did try to write them now, it would not be the same as the imagination of my childhood was much more vivid than my adult imagination.

In my early twenties, I was introduced in fan-fiction. It changed a lot of how I write and how I imagine my characters. After watching way too much television and too many movies I pay attention to their voice tones, their facial features, and how they carry themselves in different situations. A lot of the physical features of my characters are based of actors and musicians. Many of my stories start out as fan-fictions and then I just change a few names and tweak a few situations to slide into a new universe.  No matter which world I visit, one thing I always keep in the back of my mind is the stern teaching and hospitality of Uncle Jesse and the experiences of my psych classes. There are a lot of mistakes my characters will make as conflict moves things along in a story, but I find Uncle Jesse there saying be good, stand up to the choices you have made, and when you make a mistake, make it right.

Thank you Uncle Jesse for keeping "Those crazy Dukes" and me in line.

Inspiring Beautiful Days

Last year when I had my daughter's interest in helping me with the garden, we planted a bleeding heart root. I had not had much luck with these beautiful plants with their red heart-shaped petals. My daughter had the idea of placing rocks around it to mark its growing space so we would not plant our pansies and other plants too close. We also painted metal fairy stakes my husband gave us to liven up the garden a little more as we waited for the plants to grow. My daughter came up with story that the circle was meeting place for real fairies to meet, and the garden stake was a relic to protect them from big birds. The crows in our neighborhoods are huge and all I can think of when I see them is Dick Van Dyke's bank owner character in Mary Poppins when he tries to convince the boy to invest his money in the bank instead of giving the money to lady on the bench and feeding the birds. 

My imaginative daughter even took my poor broken lighthouse bird feeder to place in her fairy meeting place and said at night, when they met, they would use their magic to light it up so they could see each other. Sadly, this lighthouse, made out of cheap materials, crumbled under the weather, watering, and wind of Wyoming. Then came the week of -25 degrees or more this past winter. I just knew my bad luck with the beautiful bush would continue. 

Then after school ended for the semester and I could pay attention to my garden, I actually noticed the leaves so full and green almost covering the dead branches from last year. Today, one of the most beautiful days of the season that is noticeable after long days of writing papers, taking tests, research, and classes, I hand-raked all the dead leaves and pulled the dreadful dandelions out. I also found the rocks my daughter saw as seats for the fairies. Maybe, her imagination has sparked some magic in me to hope that the fairies that met there protected my delicate during the harsh winter and helped it come back this season.

I can't wait to see the fragile, soft, red petals that have a tip to look like bleeding hearts. To all that have the magical imaginations to believe in fairies, please help me to whisper my thanks to them for helping one of my favorite plants. May the keep it safe as the threat of frost in our region does not officially end until Memorial Day weekend.

I hope you all have a great, sunny day that you can get out and enjoy, and may it inspire you with magical sparks to your imagination whether you are reading, writing, or just plain enjoying the day.