[stylist] Joy Ride-a quck look at my road trip

Wed Jul 21 14:02:54 UTC 2010

Hi Myrna,
Glad you were inspired to write. I like your sense of humor and the 
lightheartedness of the piece in general. I'm not crazy about long rides 
either, though I take quite a few with my husband on our annual travels. 
I'm always in the front seat with a pillow that migrates from being 
under my knees to being on the floor under my feet or on my lap under my 
hands or standing up out of the way.

The only thing I would criticize is the use of ellipses (...). I'm never 
sure why people use this in their writing on such a frequent basis. I 
have a cousin -- not a writer -- but she uses ... to the exclusion of 
all other punctuation. There are times when a character is speaking and 
I wish to indicate a pause that I use it, and in scholarly works it is 
used when a portion of a quote has been deliberately excluded, but I'm 
not real familiar with other uses.

BTW, you recently mentioned, I think, that you no longer have a slate 
and stylus. Why is that?
Best,
Donna Hill

Read Donna's articles on
Suite 101:
www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
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www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885

Connect with Donna on
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/dewhill
LinkedIn:
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FaceBook:
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Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
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Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project 
Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit 
Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
www.padnfb.org

KajunCutie926@    .com wrote:
>  
> I think this is my first poet here so I do hope I'm  doing it correctly... 
> I'm still operating on fumes alone I think....and yep I  didn't do it right 
> the first time.. so here goes again...
>  
> Since you all gave me the idea to put this to paper  last night I decided 
> to just jot down some quick thoughts... it's meant for fun  mostly and will 
> likely be one of those things that I keep for my enjoyment and  memory 
> only... I do not write much else but poetry so this is a stretch and a  very rough 
> and rusty one at that..
> Myrna
>  
> Joy Ride
>
> It began on a Monday.  "Of  course, it would be a Monday," I mumbled as I 
> crawled into the backseat of a  very comfortable car just after midnight, 
> knowing that 'comfortable' was really  relative to the length of the ride.  
> After about an hour of the expected  twelve hour trip I understood the truth of 
> this knowledge and actually  considered kicking myself a good swift one in 
> the posterior for even considering  the journey... but realized immediately 
> that not only was there not enough room  for the maneuver, I likely would 
> not have been able to move either knee to  accomplish it anyway.  They were 
> already suffering from 'bent knee'  syndrome.  
>
> My grandchildren, ages thirteen and eight, shared my  cocoon of torture but 
> were snoozing blissfully which was a good thing I  suppose.  I found myself 
> looking forward to our first scheduled pit stop  with the enthusiasm I once 
> thought was only warranted for those very special  occasions... and quickly 
> moved this moment to the top of that special  list.
>
> I looked over at the snoozers and prayed their nap would be lengthy  and 
> attempted to find my own little cranny in the cocoon.  I popped on my  
> earphones hoping my chosen audio book would help to temper my discomfort and  allow 
> time to pass more quickly.  In a matter of minutes I again thought of  that 
> posterior kick upon realizing that I had picked the most boring book in my  
> collection.  Another truth of life revealed... boredom does not lend itself 
>  to instant snooze as you might believe.  Instead I found myself drumming 
> my  fingers on a knee that was already in pain.  Another truth... drumming  
> fingers does not equal therapeutic massage.
>
> Oh, the joys of  travel!
>
> Pit stop!!!  Three hours down and nine more to  go!    Horrors!  Would the 
> snoozers be awakened? Well, of  course, they would be!  Good thing, I had to 
> admit.  A wet cocoon  would not be on my wish list of good things.  
>
> On our way again...  and the snoozers do go back to snoozing.  I lifted my 
> eyes skyward and  mouthed a heartfelt 'thank you' to any divine entity 
> responsible.  Telling  myself I must get some sleep because daylight will come 
> and the snoozers will  awaken, I settled back to enjoy my boring choice of 
> reading material and smiled  at my silent grumpiness.  I was actually quite 
> proud of myself. Only nine  hours to go.  Oh joy....
>
> Another pit stop!!  Again I murmured a  'thank you' to anyone who might be 
> listening but for a different reason and  heard my son-in-law chuckle, 
> asking if I had enjoyed my nap.  Whoa... I  really had napped!  Daylight had 
> arrived and the snoozers had awakened....  and now only six hours to go!
>
> The journey continued and another truth  was revealed.  I never once chided 
> my daughter or son-in-law for their  apparent bending of speed limit rules. 
> The thought did cross my mind but my knee  threatened to make it possible 
> for that posterior attention I contemplated  earlier to become a reality.  
> Enough motivation to zip my lip and leave the  driving to the 'experts'.  I 
> nearly choked on that thought but my knee  spoke up again and...yes, I 
> listened.
>
> I really was looking forward to  this trip and I told myself that as the 
> miles crawled by in endless  monotony.  I was going to be visiting family 
> living in the foothills of the  Ozarks while the experts and snoozers were going 
> on to enjoy a theme park and  have their first fun vacation in a couple of 
> years.  So it was all good...  except, of course, for the road trip and two 
> very talkative knees.  After  several more pit stops and even a brief doze 
> or two we arrived!  After a  short visit filled with many hugs and much 
> laughter, my fellow travelers  continued on to their final pit stop and I settled 
> in for a few days of quiet  and relaxation.  I think I even heard a sigh of 
> relief escape from knees in  dire need of space and a long soak in a tub.
>
> The next few days were spent  simply enjoying... I love my bayou home but I 
> must admit that the mountains draw  me with their own charm.  The scent of 
> air filled with its unique blend of  nature's best and worst, the feel of a 
> mountain morning, cool breeze on skin,  the music of a feathered concerto, 
> welcoming in off-key renditions of familiar  songs, the echo of life that 
> comes from the earth and sky, and the peace that  settles upon me at 
> sunset...all have made my visits here special memories.   No doubt I would add a few 
> more and I did.
>
> Time does not stand still,  however, and the day came when we must journey 
> home.  It was mid-morning  and after tearful goodbyes and more of those 
> family hugs, I again crawled into  that comfortable car, the cocoon of 
> torture....twelve hours and counting I  thought.  Yes, the joys of travel.... The 
> knees only groaned!
>
> I soon  learned that these twelve hours would be spent a bit differently 
> than those  spent on the first round.  The snoozers would not be snoozing and 
> the pit  stops would likely be more frequent.  I also learned a few more of 
> life's  truths and some gave me much pleasure in the discovery.  I learned 
> that I  still possessed the ability to give children that 'look'.  It is 
> tempered a  bit with grandmothers' gray but the effect is still the same.  I 
> learned  that patience is indeed a virtue.  I did already know this but a 
> refresher  course is never a bad thing, is it?  I also learned that though knees 
> can  forgive, they do not forget and likely I will be reminded of my road 
> trip for  some time to come.  I do not fear the swift kick though because even 
> they  realize the attempt would be futile really.   Finally, I learned that 
>  growing older means accepting life as it comes, both good and bad, but 
> always  embracing the living and breathing of every moment.  Again, something I 
>  knew but the reminder is always nice.  
>
> Oh, the joys of travel...  and the joy of coming home!
>
>
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