Ignorant Shame

I was a member of the Armijo Super Band in Fairfield, California for all four of my high school years. And though we were called "band freaks" by the "popular" kids of the day, I was proud of my membership in the elite band. Our director, Mr. Lindsey always maintained the highest expectations with regard to our performance on and off the field.

For that reason, I encouraged both my daughter and son to be in their high school bands, though to my disappointment, they only stayed in their bands for two years. No more living vicariously.

I always regretted that I didn't get to attend college in the traditional way. Instead, I went to night school and worked. So, I never got to be in a college band. Even today, I can't think of too many things that would be more fun.

That's why, when I heard the story of the University of Southern Mississippi band chanting "Where's your green card?" to a Latino player on the Kansas State University basketball team, I cringed with disgust.

In my experience, being a band member was always positive, especially when it came to competition. I was taught to compete hard and be a good sport if we didn't win. What a great feeling to cheer and celebrate with my fellow band members. If any of us ever displayed such poor sportsmanship, Mr. Lindsey would have dragged us off the bleachers by our ears and stood us in the middle of the court while he scolded us with his megaphone.

Where was the band director, the drum major, while these chants occurred? Did anyone in the audience stand up and chastise the band?

Kudos to Angel Rodriguez, the basketball player who was the victim of the chanting. According to CNN:

Rodriguez did not change his expression during the chants and helped push Kansas State to victory by scoring 13 points.


"I heard it. I don't pay attention to that nonsense, especially because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, so we don't need no type of papers," Rodriguez said Friday. "Their athletic director and personnel from their school came to apologize, and I accepted it."


Rodriguez said he realized that there are "ignorant people, and I know that is not how they want to represent their university. I've moved on already," he said. "I have a game to focus on."

I keep hoping we have "outgrown" such ugliness, but sadly, it appears not.

"Waiting for My Boy" #FridayFictioneers #FlashFiction

Madison Woods posted a bit of a different photo prompt today, and what a pretty dog. (According to the photo's file name, her name is "Bobbie Sue.") So much to write about her wise, watchful eyes. I'm excited to read the variety of flash that is sure to be written about her. Click here for links to all the stories.

Feel free to leave a link to your stories with your comments!

Waiting for My Boy

It’s the longest part of the day

Waiting while the sun that

shines overhead drops and hides

behind the oak across the street and cool

shade replaces warm sunshine on

my belly.

The yellow school bus engine revs

as it approaches.

Brakes squeal.

It stops in front of the oak.

My boy runs across the street, his

satchel bulging with homework that will take

him away from me for hours.

My tail wiggles, then

ripples through me

until

my whole body

shivers

with

one,

giant wag.

He flings the gate open,

kneels and wraps his arms around

me.

The-scent-of-him-the-taste-of-him.

My boy!

Happy 101st Birthday to Akira Yoshizawa - Origami Grand Master

Thank you to Google for its March 14, 2012 Google Doodle that reminded me of Akira Yoshizawa's 101st birthday. Though I've always enjoyed origami, before today, I never really thought about who inspired its popularity.

Happy birthday, Yoshizawa-san!

Thinking about origami reminded me of a trip my mother, sisters and daughter took to Japan a few years ago.







There, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Of course I'd read the history of Hiroshima. But, even six decades later, the vision of what remains of the damage is startling. My first reaction was to deny to myself that our nation could have been responsible for such destruction. But of course, how could I deny it?

As we walked around the memorial site, a group of Japanese boys approached us, and asked if we would let them walk with us and answer any questions we might have about the memorial. It was a part of a school project they said.

At first, it was difficult to communicate, as they knew little English, and we knew even less Japanese. But as we walked around, I was surprised to find how much we were able to communicate with gestures and expresssions.

We came upon a beautiful memorial called the Children's Peace Monument, also known as Tower of a Thousand Cranes. We read the information and the boys further explained its story.

Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Ten years later, she died of leukemia.  During her illness, she folded origami cranes in hopes they would help her recover from her illness. After her death, the Children’s Peace Monument was built. In the years since, thousands upon thousands of visitors from all over the world have  hung origami cranes, each a wish for peace.

Click here for more information on the Children’s Peace Monument  at Hiroshima.

Today, when I found these reminders of origami, I wondered why I hadn't included anything about origami in Broken Dolls. 

I guess that's one good thing about it not being published yet. It's not too late.

Telling Tuesdays 03/13/12 - "She'd never been so afraid."

Welcome to Telling Tuesday, a day reminiscent of those in school when I looked forward to seeing what everyone brought for show and tell. This weekly feature was inspired by an article on WriteToDone.com, called "How to Show (Not Tell): A Writing Lesson from John LeCarre."


It is one of the best articles I've seen on the rule all writers know--show, don't tell--because it doesn't just tell us how not to tell, it shows us some of LeCarre's very own examples.

" . . . descriptions can set the scene, convey the inexpressible, and turn the reader into a witness, instead of remaining a mere bystander." -- Mary Jaksch, author of the article

Each week, I'll give a "telling" prompt, and invite you to show us, to make us a witness, not a mere bystander. Feel free to use the prompt, or the photo (if a photo is shown.) Of course, if you have a completely different "telling" prompt, you can "show" us that, too.


As always, I invite you to leave a link to your website or blog with your comments.


THIS WEEK'S PROMPT:


She'd never been so afraid.

     She tiptoed, slowly, slowly, hoping he would not hear her. She'd even murmured a prayer, though she wasn't sure if she'd said it right. And if she said it wrong, would God hear her?
     She was afraid of the dark, but grateful for it, too.
     A leaf crunched--screamed--below her foot.
     He turned toward her.
     Did he see her?
     She froze. All except her heart. It pounded so hard and loud in ears it might have smothered the sound of his footsteps . . . if he wasn't getting closer.
     Closer.
     Should she scream?
     No. He'd hear her. Then find her.
     But, it was her only chance. Surely someone would hear, come to help.
     She opened her mouth, and prayed she could make a sound escape it.

Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 3/12/12

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

Saturday was the premier of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen, five women authors traveling together on the long and winding road to overnight success, starring Linda Apple, Ruth Burkett Weeks, Pamela Foster, Patty Stith (aka Claire Croxton) and me, Jan Morrill.


Come by and visit our new blog at:

www.sisterhoodofthetravelingpen.wordpress.com.

Ruth, Pamela, Jan, Patty and Linda

We had a blast, sharing stories of our writerly journey complete with skipping and tripping through twists and turns on the way to the faraway land called Publication. The world has changed for writers, and I think we demonstrated it in an entertaining way. Much of the change we discussed involves the importance of a platform--even for fiction writers. And social media plays a huge role in building that platform.

Until you, too, can experience the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen, I hope the links I share this week will help you maneuver your way through the challenges of this strange, new world.

Insatiable Booksluts has a great series called "Know Your Publisher," have provided information and links to a variety of small publishers, such as Red Lemonade and Coffee House Press.

http://insatiablebooksluts.wordpress.com/category/series-2/know-your-publisher-series/

# # #

Once again, Kristen Lamb posts a relevant blog to help writers maneuver their way through the foggy, gloppy world of social media. In her post, "The Modern Author - A New Breed of Writer for the Digital Age of Publishing," she states "We need to be stronger, faster and smarter. We must be better trained than any writer in human history."

Don't forget, Kristen is our guest speaker at the Ozarks Writers League meeting on August 18!

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/the-modern-author-a-new-breed-of-writer-for-the-digital-age-of-publishing/

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This week, through Twitter, I found a new blog, SEOmoz. Though it is an SEO (search engine optimization) software developer, they posted a helpful article titled "21 Tactics to increase Your Blog Traffic." Admittedly though some of these tactics are complicated and will require more study, (such as #5 and #7), most of the tactics are easy to implement.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic-2012

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

The real voyage of discovery
consists not in seeking new landscapes
but in having new eyes.

                                --- Marcel Proust