If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know I love to travel. You may not know, though you've probably suspected, I love books as much as I love traveling. To me they're much the same, reading is just a different mode of travel, a more powerful mode. Books allow me to travel without leaving home, to places that may or may not really exist. I get to meet characters and hear tales, some which are real and others which can only be found in books.
I've been reading a special book for the last couple of months. I've renewed it so many times, if I don't return it soon, the librarians will suspend my card, placing me in library limbo. The book is, 420 Characters, by Lou Beach. It was published in 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I've never written about a book before, but this one is so unique and has given me such pleasure, I just have to talk about it before I return it to the public library. I expect a copy will soon be joining my home library.
420 Characters consists of illustrations by the author and miniature stories, each no longer than 420 characters, including letters, spaces and punctuation. I love these stories! Each one is detailed, engaging and complete on one page. Beach tells a better story in those few lines than many multi-chaptered books I've read. I've mulled on some of his stories for days.
His book has inspired me to improve my writing and stretch my imagination. Until I start physically traveling again, I'm going to travel in my mind, writing 420 character stories. Here goes # 1:
THE TALON-HONED MISSILE launched from the sky---death on feathered wings. She gained on the tiny bird until both predator and prey exploded kamikaze-like into the invisible panes, smudging the windows and leaving two feathered bodies littered on the damp sidewalk. A clerk scooped the bodies into a dust pan while women steered their carts around the obstruction, rechecking their lists and planning their evening meals.
Just last week I was complaining about the weather---it was too warm! I know, that sounds a lot like the rantings of a crazy woman, complaining about temperatures in the forties in January. But, I had a reason to complain. I was worried that it would be too warm for the ice festival. Every year, Plymouth, Michigan holds an ice festival in the heart of the city, Kellogg Park. And, almost every year, the warmest temperatures of the winter seem to occur during the festival. Some years it rains and visitors wander around the park, under their umbrellas, trying to identify the rapidly melting statues. Other years, the temperatures are so warm that the carvers seem to be making slush creations.
I found these cutouts last week while walking around downtown. All they needed were two faces to fill the holes. So, with the help of a couple of my favorite cards: my niece Amanda and her friend, Kim, I'm sending you a little holiday greeting. I hope you take some time to have fun wandering about exploring the season, too.
And so it begins...the first snowfall of winter. Luckily it didn't stick to the sidewalks; by late morning it had melted off of the cars. I guess this means I should dig out the snow shovels before we get a real snow storm. The snow's pretty now, but it won't be long before it's whining time again.
I watched a little neighborhood drama unfold while I ate my breakfast yesterday. One of the chipmunks who live under my deck, poked his head out his front door, perhaps to see if it was a good time for him to gather his breakfast. A red squirrel also noticed him and decided to investigate. The chipmunk must have said something rude, because the squirrel didn't stick around too long. After the squirrel left, the chipmunk came out again, sniffed the rock by his front door, and with an indignant, "harrumph" went back to collecting his breakfast.
