Cousin Noah's trusty volume has saved my "reputation" many times when writing "stuff 'n such" for the PTA newsletters, the El Monte Herald and the local newspapers that would print my freelance articles about the small town doings of organizations I belonged to. More than once my limited exposure to the "world" as a kid (in other words, guys and dolls, lack of engaging sophistication) in a small Cass County, Iowa, town was a literary challenge when it came to composing news releases soon to be read by neighborhood USC or UCLA college graduates, no less! Long before the advent of Spellcheck as a household word, it was prudent to own several tomes of Noah's printed genius, and wouldn't he be "thrilled" today to find words that would, in his day, be found less than Puritanical?
Perhaps it is well and good that I have never reached that level of "sophistication" that I so yearned for and admired as a young lass in that town of 5,000 plus souls...even with the help of Roget's Thesaurus, that distant Cousin on the Marsh side of the family, and a few pious peers who laughingly pointed out to me, all too willingly, my gaffes in the "double entendre" department. (I have learned to stop doing that to a point.)
(I ask you: What "sophisticated miss" would press her pug nose against the plate glass window of the ANT, then located on Main Street, and eagerly watch for the first printed page roll off the antiquated press, then run home to 210 Birch, apply a coat of Tangee, and eagerly await the arrival of the delivery boy and, oh yes, the newspaper? Egregiously guilty!)
Perhaps it is well and good that I have never reached that level of "sophistication" that I so yearned for and admired as a young lass in that town of 5,000 plus souls...even with the help of Roget's Thesaurus, that distant Cousin on the Marsh side of the family, and a few pious peers who laughingly pointed out to me, all too willingly, my gaffes in the "double entendre" department. (I have learned to stop doing that to a point.)
(I ask you: What "sophisticated miss" would press her pug nose against the plate glass window of the ANT, then located on Main Street, and eagerly watch for the first printed page roll off the antiquated press, then run home to 210 Birch, apply a coat of Tangee, and eagerly await the arrival of the delivery boy and, oh yes, the newspaper? Egregiously guilty!)
Most of the words that I came to live by in those days came from the Atlantic News Telegraph and the Des Moines Register, each just as much a staple in any household as cream and sugar, vinegar and spice. Today is an entirely different story....give me another year or two and I will, with ease and a bit of borrowed confidence, employ a computer-driven vocabulary that would make Belva Jane Mythaler, English Teacher Par Excellence, pleased as punch. Yes, I know the road to "sophistication" is one of temerity and would probably preclude "pleased as punch" in most literary circles. I intend to introduce that phrase when and if I gain membership, operative words being "when and if!" However, knowing and seasoned girl scribes tell me the "road is long and winding, uphill, potholes abound, and the money is almost non-existent!"
So I Blog away...and there are no finicky deadline-demanding editors looking over my hunched shoulders as I type away looking somewhat like a 2011 edition of Apple Mary of the 1930's comics fame: Alas! Some of you will not know her, of the kindly heart and rounded frame, you being of such a tender age and the like! :) As a former AHS "The Needle" feature story writer, I am quite content in my dotage! Knowing there is a Deb and another Deb, a Linda, a Colleen, a Jennie, a Jen, a Jessica, an Emilie, a Nancy, a Jane, a Cindy, a Beth, a Sue, a Tonya, a Melinda, a Mary, a Ginna, a Linden, a Sharon, a Rita, a Julie, and a Kat ...(I will add male names for a slight fee!) ... reading these plain-spoken words gladdens my whole being!
When next we meet, it will be to tell you of the "behind the scenes" story of four young men in Illinois who are filming: "The Mysterious Rhoda A. Derry". The saga of Brandon, Bryan, Darrin and Winston is a truly remarkable one in itself, and I am so hoping my "lack of sophistication" with words doesn't get in the way of your feeling the sheer wonderment and awe, that I am caught up in, as they share their experiences and joys and frustrations in the making of this mind- and heart-changing Reality's End movie. Move over, Steven Spielberg! That's a "wrap!" ...
* * * * * * * * *
P.S. About that word "prequel"....
Sometime ago, B-B-D-W (the four filmmakers) made a movie called "Bookbinder" a 17-minute film about another inmate of the Asylum which housed Rhoda and many others. It had a good run on YouTube and other places and one of the last scenes in that movie was of Rhoda's funeral service.
In the course of their creative careers and because Rhoda' story has had such an impact on their lives, B-B-D-W decided to make "The Mysterious Rhoda Derry" In other words, where the "Bookbinder" story ended....oh well, I'll explain another time! (Think cart-before-the-horse scenario and you'll be just fine!)
So...and Brandon, correct me if this needs a "retake" but "prequel" means "before the sequel" (which is the Bookbinder film) and if there is no such word in your dictionary, pencil it in. You'll be seeing it a lot! And Cousin Noah, no doubt, will be "pleased as punch!"
So I Blog away...and there are no finicky deadline-demanding editors looking over my hunched shoulders as I type away looking somewhat like a 2011 edition of Apple Mary of the 1930's comics fame: Alas! Some of you will not know her, of the kindly heart and rounded frame, you being of such a tender age and the like! :) As a former AHS "The Needle" feature story writer, I am quite content in my dotage! Knowing there is a Deb and another Deb, a Linda, a Colleen, a Jennie, a Jen, a Jessica, an Emilie, a Nancy, a Jane, a Cindy, a Beth, a Sue, a Tonya, a Melinda, a Mary, a Ginna, a Linden, a Sharon, a Rita, a Julie, and a Kat ...(I will add male names for a slight fee!) ... reading these plain-spoken words gladdens my whole being!
When next we meet, it will be to tell you of the "behind the scenes" story of four young men in Illinois who are filming: "The Mysterious Rhoda A. Derry". The saga of Brandon, Bryan, Darrin and Winston is a truly remarkable one in itself, and I am so hoping my "lack of sophistication" with words doesn't get in the way of your feeling the sheer wonderment and awe, that I am caught up in, as they share their experiences and joys and frustrations in the making of this mind- and heart-changing Reality's End movie. Move over, Steven Spielberg! That's a "wrap!" ...
* * * * * * * * *
P.S. About that word "prequel"....
Sometime ago, B-B-D-W (the four filmmakers) made a movie called "Bookbinder" a 17-minute film about another inmate of the Asylum which housed Rhoda and many others. It had a good run on YouTube and other places and one of the last scenes in that movie was of Rhoda's funeral service.
In the course of their creative careers and because Rhoda' story has had such an impact on their lives, B-B-D-W decided to make "The Mysterious Rhoda Derry" In other words, where the "Bookbinder" story ended....oh well, I'll explain another time! (Think cart-before-the-horse scenario and you'll be just fine!)
So...and Brandon, correct me if this needs a "retake" but "prequel" means "before the sequel" (which is the Bookbinder film) and if there is no such word in your dictionary, pencil it in. You'll be seeing it a lot! And Cousin Noah, no doubt, will be "pleased as punch!"
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