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Hello KeePers. So as some of you know, our family recently went out west for two weeks and visited most of the major national parks— Teton, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Arches, Custer… all that good stuff.
During those two weeks I carried a pocket notebook and pen with me at all times, jotting down writerly observations whenever I found opportunity.
I’d like to share some of those observations with you guys.1. Carry a notebook and pen with you at all times. 😀
2. Man knows instinctively that history is precious, but they twist it how they like, preserving the physical and ignoring the ‘subtext’, which destroys it psychologically. Physicality thus misconstrued is fact without truth, which is useless.
A word of warning— all these are copied directly from my notebook, and when I’m writing for myself (or talking to myself 😛 ) I use tons of big words. But that shouldn’t bother you guys. 😉
3. Comedic timing is crucial.
Okay, so there’s a bit of a story behind that one… The landlady of a lodge we were staying in one night informed us when we got there that she had seen a grizzly bear in our front yard only just that morning. Yes. Things like that do happen out there, apparently. So as soon as it got fully dark, Mom remembered that she had left the oatmeal in the car… so she sent my brother William and me out to get it. We flipped on all the outside lights and dashed to the car, yanking the door open and hopping inside with a great deal more… hm… alacrity than is quite usual in either of us. 😛 William started rummaging around for the oatmeal. The landlady had said to make a lot of noise in case of a bear hanging around, so at this point I was singing Home on the Range at the top of my voice, though as I recall it was a little shaky… XD
We never actually saw the bear. But the moment I got to the line ‘where seldom is heard a discouraging word’ my prankster brother screamed ‘BEAR!!!’
So yes. Comedic timing is crucial.4. Sincere and earnest attention can make the homeliest person both adorable and fascinating.
5. The difference between Creation and Evolution is the difference between a strong plot twist and a weak plot twist— Evolution holds that dinosaurs fossilized in riverbeds were simply dragging themselves down to get water and died of thirst before the water came. Creation holds that all the dinosaurs were wiped out in a world-wide catastrophic Flood.
I got a kick out of that one. 😉
6. Mountain ranges are NOT narrow.
7. Chemical composition of crust affects terrain. Also depending on type of rock, chemicals may seep through. Certain chemicals also promote the growth of certain spores/toxins and/or contain toxins themselves, making certain regions inhospitable and/or unsafe.
8. Burned terrain grows its undergrowth really thick afterwards.
9. Each culture has their preferred weapons.
10. Crossbows have crank and pulley drawing system.
11. Tribal systems always post scouts and have very efficient warning systems. Also very tightly knit.
(Inspired by watching prairie dogs. 😀 )
12. God is ultimate power governed by infinite love.
13. Since the victors write the history books, precious philosophical material is lost. Given a false, if lofty, ideal to cherish, man may perhaps be more inspired but certainly less wise.
For the curious, that was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s face immortalized on Mount Rushmore.
14. Half of human fear results from lack of confidence in one’s own resilience/reflexes.
And I think that’s pretty much it; that’s universally applicable, anyway. Thoughts? Disagreements? Observations of your own? I’m all ears.
(well technically not… I mean I can’t literally be all ears… just figuratively speaking… y’know… like— metaphorically? You know what metaphors are? Yeah. Never mind.)
😉
@kate-flournoy Thank you for sharing this! I wish I could be as dedicated as you when it comes to carrying around a notebook. Also, I love your humor. 🙂Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.
Um, yes. Why didn’t you get that bear scene on video! lol
Also, I don’t know why people always say that the victors write the history books. Anybody can write a history book if they want to. It’s just the victors that control which history books get taught in the schools.
The thing I learned from going out west is that Ohio is awesome.
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
@Christi-Eaton actually it’s a habit I just started, after being told again and again and again that I HAD to do it… it’s actually quite addicting. 😀
@Daeus well, that’s the thing with video-cameras. They’re never around when you need them. 😛
And that is true, about the history books. Good point. The saying should properly be ‘The victors write the mainstream history books’, but that doesn’t sound quite as nice, now does it?Another observation I forgot to add is that almost fainting is a very peculiar experience. Our first day of vacation we drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park— and when I say up I mean UP— all the way above the timber line and into tundra, and I hopped out (in short sleeves, by the way) with my camera to snap some pictures. I totally forgot about elevation and thin air. In fact I only remembered it after running full speed halfway up a steep staircase to an observation point at one of the peaks. I then became vaguely aware that my lungs and chest were bursting with pressure and burning for air that wasn’t coming, then snapped to a halt as I realized the air was thinner up on top of a mountain… duh… I didn’t actually pass out, but I was a little weird and light in the head for quite some time afterwards. It almost felt like a white-out in my brain— there wasn’t pain or anything, it was just this dizzying sense of encroaching nothing. Like a silent roar or something.
If that makes any sense. 😛@kate-flournoy, I have never passed out before or have even come close to it. (I have in fact gotten strangely dizzy) but for some odd reason, your descriptions makes the most sense. That must have been quite some experience
.Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.
Neat stuff, @Kate-Flournoy. I hadn’t seen all of those. I especially like #5 (Creation vs. Evolution) and #13 (Lincoln’s face. Shall we get into the Lincoln debate, or not get into the Lincoln debate? 😉 ).
The thing I learned from going out west is that Ohio is awesome.
That’s great, @Daeus. I agree wholeheartedly. 🙂
@Emma-Flournoy not get into a Lincoln debate, preferably. 😛 I am open to disagreements, anybody who feels like being… well… disagreeable ;), but since no one’s offering let’s not debate.
XD
@Christi-Eaton yes, and not one I care to experience again. 😛 I almost passed out from a fever a few years ago and it was a whole lot more severe (may have blacked out for real for several seconds, actually) and there were all these weird prickly colors in my brain… it was kinda cool, come to think of it…Good sense. 😛
@kate-flournoy Thanks for the tidbits!
I actually always carry a small notebook around with me as well, just in case I get a sudden idea and don’t want to forget it. But beside that, I think your funniest one was the one with different views of dinosaurs. I don’t think that dinosaurs would be that silly as to wait so-o long for their water… “So thirsty…” :p 🙂 😀☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
Well, @kate-flournoy I have a feeling that “Cool” isn’t quite the right word while describing passing out 🙂 🙂 🙂
Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.
@Christi-Eaton hm, you have a point… 😛
@kate-flournoy
Thanks for sharing your thoughts/observations/stories/writing tips! 😉 Our family went out west a couple years ago, and it was a lot of fun! I agree with @daeus that going out west (or anywhere else, really) makes me thankful that I live in Ohio. I couldn’t stand living in a place with no fall colors (like in California–well, southern California, at least)!!! From the stories you told, that sounds like quite a trip. 😛 I probably would have done the same thing in the bear scenario. XD@Kate-Flournoy I like them.
’12. God is ultimate power governed by infinite love’ Rebinds me of the Eyes of Everia series. Have yo read them?@Anna-Brie ha! Yes, I have— I didn’t remember that until just now. 😀
Come to think of it, I guess that wasn’t an observation so much as it was… philosophy. Hm. Is there a difference?
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