THTSL Manual - "We are what we write"

Oh, happy day! There was a break in the snow and ice storms long enough for me to actually go to the Senior Center this week. Talk about irony! I no sooner find a bunch of folks -- all under one roof! -- that remember first-hand The Beetles, Love-ins and Sit-ins, and disco, than I was stuck in my house for one entire week, thanks to fouled up Weather Management. Hey, it's all OK. We can only do what we can do, right? Right.

Anyway, for my entry to the Senior Center activities, I tried my hand at the Writing Group. After all, I've been writing a good many years, with much of my work appearing on my web site for the past 15 years; so I figured what the heck, I'd fit right in. From their last meeting, the topic my group-mates chose to write on was "Animals", as in pets, both past and present. Naturally, since this was my first meeting with them, I had brought nothing with me of my writings. Or, so I thought. As each member read his or her story or essay, the room filled with warmth, smiles, and at times, tears. Very talented people, my group mates' writings suddenly inspired me to remember something:  I had my cell phone with me, so ergo I had access to my blog, right here on the mighty Web!

Suddenly, all eyes were on moi.

"Do you have anything by chance, Marie, that you would like to share?" asked Audra, our leader. I have a sneaking suspicion today that at that moment, she might have been thinking, "Of course she doesn't, so it's safe to ask!" However, I believe I burst her bubble with my reply.

"Yes! As a matter of fact, I have access to my blog on the 'net, right here on my cell phone!"

Everyone smiled and all of their voices chimed in with requests for me to read something from my blog.

Oh, my goodness! What to pick?? I've done stories here on my pets, including Roxy and Max, my horse and dog, respectively. And, of course, a myriad of critters from my backyard -- not to mention those at the wildlife clinic where I volunteer. What to choose, I wondered. Almost panicking, I opted to find my very first story here, going back to  when I began this blog. All I know is that it was quite a few entries ago!

I found it. It's not so easy scrolling around when you are fiddling with a tiny computer screen the same size as a compact mirror! But, eventually I found my first entry, which if you have been following my blog, was on "Wicky the Wat". If you haven't read that series of writings, go back to the beginning of my blog and read them! It took me about 10 or 11 entries in all to finish the tale of Wicky the Wat and it will remain near and dear to my heart, always.

But, for my Writing Group, I only got about 2/3 of the way through my first entry when I realized something. Two of the men in our group were turning almost beet red, trying to hold back laughter! Three of the women were giggling behind Kleenex's, held politely up to their noses and mouths. The leader's eyes almost bore holes into my own, as if to say, "Please tell me -- you have GOT to be kidding! A rat??!"  The third man in our group, a guy of about 83 was snoozing away, his head making little bobbing movements. I was impressed he was up, out of bed and out of his house at all, so his nap didn't faze me in the least!

"Er...all I can tell you is that to understand the story, you need to read the whole thing and we don't have nearly enough time today," I answered.  With that, everyone began asking me for the URL to my blog! Even though I felt somewhat honored, I also felt a tad embarrassed. After all, what they were about to read was something truly 'out of the norm' for most people's experiences.

I could only hope and pray they'd be happy to see me in two weeks, when our next meeting convenes. I guess I'm going to find out, huh?!