Disappeared

May 14, 2019

I woke up at one a.m. to let she-who-has-a-tiny-bladder outside.  As I tried to fall back asleep I thought of a twist to a story I’m writing.  It works, it builds character and brings in new locations.  It adds more, “What If”, to the story.

Why at my senior age is my mind grabbing bits and pieces from my memories to build a story?  When I was younger, writing in a creative writing class, I could never think up twists and turns and endings for my stories.  Now my mind is taking me down one path after another.  I have to ask those of you who create, in whatever way, do you sometimes shiver with delight when a moment of brilliance pushes through?  Being creative is better than television, cellphones or laptops.  Our creativity comes from our minds, our five senses, our imagination.  Maybe that’s why when I woke up for Miss Tommie’s evening constitutional my brain segued into thoughts of  removing electronics to discover one’s self.  Had a part of my subconscious been working on the story while I slept?

Do you know why birds sing just before dawn?  Scientists believe it’s to tell their mates that they made it through the night, as a way of saying, “I’m still here”.  Maybe that’s why we sing, too, why we create art-as a way of saying, “I made it.  I’m still here. ”   Jeff Goins @JeffGoins (Facebook-permission granted to post.)

Have you ever been alone, driving in the country and thought how easy it would be to never return?  I felt that emotion for a fleeting moment once while driving in scenic Tennessee on the way to a dog show.   What if?

We live in a world of connectivity.  We are traceable.  Does that make you feel uneasy sometimes, a creepy Big Brother queasiness like the feeling of a bug crawling on your neck?

From that moment of clarity at one a.m. I took my character one step further to the world of “not lost”, but not wanting to be found.  Did anyone care, the character wondered?

Sometimes I wish I could be that person.  I find myself writing today from a viewpoint of jealousy.  What guts it must take to walk away.  At what point does one reappear and reconnect?  What do the people back home have to give up to find the person who “goes missing”?