Photoessay #1118 - Unexpected flowers

Down at the corner in the parking lot of the mini-mart, a local farmer (like in the Farmer's Market) sets up a stand most days, selling vegetables and flowers. The have the best baby bok choy, I recommend it highly. Like having a little of the summer market back.

Last weekend, Dennis bought me a bouquet of flowers there. Nice! Here's the shot of part of them. That white flower, it's not a rose, it's a flowering cabbage! Love it.

So my Priscilla story. I write it out, 5000 words. It's rather tidy in that it has a beginning, middle, end. I had previewed the outline with some class members about a making love part. Could I leave it out? No! No! came back the reply.

I had conveniently forgotten the word limit. I knew it was long. But what's a few thousand words among friends? So I posted it.

I get caught. my writing teacher emails me ---

You might have missed this...but workshop pieces can't be any longer than 3000 words. If you want you could use a number of those words to summarize the part of the piece you'll need to omit, but everyone has to stick to the limit of 3000 words.

Man, I HATE following the rules. So I can't cut the beginning. I can't cut the end.

Earlier today, I had gotten some feedback from Joanne, my summer teacher. She did mention that it looked too long for workshopping (which I ignored) and suggested some places to cut.

But I have to cut 40% of the piece! I do, cutting out scenes and paragraphs and substituting little explanations of what I had cut. The whole 'making love' scene the night of Priscilla's death had to go. It could come back. All of it can come back.

I did manage to bring snack last night with a combination rolling suitcase and disabled parking space.

Tonight, I give one of my most unpopular (but memorable) annual programs at Parent Group. Holiday gift-giving to acting out kids. Usually a few people get pretty angry (and, as Fredda says, several other of us get pretty uncomfortable). Gift-giving is a very emotional subject, you start questioning and examining it and encourage changes (in the non-generous direction), and people will get upset.