Day #1: Bubbles and Baggins
There comes a point of no turning back, and that is to where we must aspire.
Tonight I signed a contract, and thus embark on the second draft of my beloved screenplay.
Oh, you dear reader. You beautiful reader who may -- or may not -- have
traveled down the dark and tangled woods of writing a story, I invite
you to take a trek with me.
I've had three glasses of champagne with my friend / producer, so excuse this long-winded pointless rambling.
I can't tell you the premise of the screenplay, but I can tell you that
it's a true story about someone who sacrifices everything she has to do
just one good and decent thing. Just a simple choice that changed the
world, and I promise you don't even know the story.
I have two and a half months to finish the second draft, so stick with
me through the bitter winter months, and you'll be privy to some pretty
horrific (and some pretty amazing) stories. I promise to write
everything about the process... from having walls wallpapered with
sticky notes to trying to drown myself in the bathtub, from meeting the
most incredible people to feeling like I'm the last one left after the
rapture.
(I admit that I take poetic license in some of my writing, but I did
actually try to drown myself in the bathtub during the first draft. My
antagonists reek of racism. Their pores ooze the stench of bigotry.)
Anyhoo! Raise a glass, because this is the last moment my life belongs
to me. For the next two and a half months it belongs to the journey of
my story.
What kind of cliched, self-aggrandizing writer would I be if I didn't mention:
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| Note that I did actually have Frodo hair in 2003... |
For you Lord of the Rings fans, this part of the
writing process would be like when the fellowship is in Lothlorien.
Yes, if you threw up a little after reading that last part, you're
excused from the table. I'll torture you no further.
You stayed? OMG, thanks! You see, Frodo was all like "hey, yeah
Gandalf... I'll totes take that ring and save the world. No prob.
Really. I'll just tie this little sucker around my neck, and march on
my little, hairy hobbit-footed quest to save the world."
That's was me. I was all like: "Hey, I'll totally write this screenplay. So excited! wooooo! Party in the USA."
Then, guess what happens? We get to the gates of Mordor.
MORDOR. <-- Let's play charades. One word. Two syllables. Sounds like... murder.
This can't be good.
Uh... guys... I just signed the contract, and those big freaking gates
just went "boom" behind me. What's that about? Um, guys? The gates? Do
you hear something? I'm cold. What about elevensies?
And suddenly there are all of these demons and giants, people yelling
and throwing things, and I'm just a hobbit who wants to go home.
I just wanted to write in my little carriage home in Boston. I didn't
want to meet these stench-y, growling people in my screenplay.
But then I make it out alive! Wow, it can't get worse than that, right?
Oh, and then there are ELVES???I love elves. You guys are so chill...
and pretty.
Um... not you.
You see, I've been in Lothlorien for two months. I've had great food.
People have been nice. Little twinkle lights sparkle through the trees.
I sleep the peaceful rest of a little hobbit wrapped in love.
Until they ask if I'll continue on my little journey.
Yeah, I'll go on. It can't possibly be as bad as Mordor, but even if it is, I'm willing to take the chance.
You probably think I'm insane comparing myself to Frodo, but consider this:
#1. We are the same height.
#2. We both disappear when we sense legit danger.
#3. We definitely piss people off.
#4. We get a little batty.
#5. We get super angry at ourselves for no good reason.
#6. We know that our Sams are the real, no joke heros of the story.
#7. We both promise to carry our little rings to the very end.
Tomorrow I begin my 5AM wake-up calls. If you want to read along
through the journey, I promise I'll keep the LotR analogies at bay.
Much love.
Posted by
Elizabeth Carter
at
7:33 PM
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| Sunset from my front yard by Gruver, TX |
Last
night I experienced a heart wrenching moment at a place I least
expected. Walmart. I know, right? Ghetto nation and I'm in the middle
of it in tears at 9:00 at night. I was walking down the coffee aisle
and I was trying to find my selection. I heard a sobbing to my left.
Down the aisle a couple of feet, standing in front of the tea, was an
older man. He was in his mid-60's I would suspect. I was hesitant to go
up to him because I was unsure if he was really crying or if it was
just some kind of mental or health issue and it was normal for him to
be doing that. I stood there fumbling around the coffee for another
minute or two to see if he would stop, but he didn't.
He
was now covering his face with his hands just standing in front of the
tea selections. So I walked up next to him and gently put my hand on
his shoulder. I asked him if he was okay, or if he needed help. He
caught his breath and asked me, "What am I going to do? What kind of
tea am I supposed to get?" I wasn't sure what to think at this point. I
was confused about why a man would be crying because he couldn't decide
what tea to get. I asked him what kind he was looking for, such as
green tea, hot tea, herbal tea, sun tea, etc. He just shook his head
and kept crying. He looked at me and said "For the last 42 years my
wife took care of the tea for me. She knew what kind I liked and always
had it made for me anytime I needed it. Cancer took her from me today,
and we are out of tea. I don't know what kind to get." I immediately
started tearing up but kept my composure for the moment.
He
started crying quietly again and began to tell me about his precious
wife who had lost her third bout with cancer by refusal to seek
treatment this time around. He said he was holding her hand the second
she stopped breathing and he knew she was his angel. He showed me some
pictures of her that he had stored in his wallet. Such a pretty woman
with long blonde hair and light skin. He said all he wanted right now
was to get his tea. I asked if there was someone in his family that
would know and he could call...he said his wife was the only person to
shop for him or make his tea. He stopped crying and apologized and
glanced over the selections again and just chose a box of Lipton tea
and dropped it in his basket. He looked at me again and told me I was a
kind young lady and reminded him a lot of his wife in many ways and he
feels like she sent me there to help him. I'm not sure about all that,
but I do feel touched by this man's story. He asked if he could hug me
and of course I told him yes. He hugged me and said "God bless you,
young lady. Thank you for your concern." I said your welcome and he
went on his way.
I
stood there kind of frozen for a minute then started lightly crying to
myself. You never know where you might be at the exact moment you
realize you have lost someone. For this man it was standing in the
middle of a Walmart aisle. You never realize how much someone is a part
of your life until that moment. Even if it is something as simple as
not knowing what kind of tea you like. I have had many of those moments
after losing someone. It's a hard thing to go through. It was great to
be reminded how important loved ones are and how much they mean in my
life. So don't take anything for granted and don't forget to tell those
you love how much you appreciate them.
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38th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade
The only reason I think I might be mildly intelligent is because of the size of my student loans. I know a lot of people who are smarter, especially because they didn't fall into a student loan trap. With
the size of my debt, either I've subsidized a private mission to Mars
(*sigh*), or I've paid a few institutions to allow me the privilege of
reading a lot of books for the last 20 years.
I believe in evolution. I believe in
the Krebs Cycle. I believe String Theory is compelling. And I have
faith in Stanford's mission to prove Einstein's Theory of Relativity:
http://einstein.stanford.edu
All of that to say: I read, research,
brood, consider, and evaluate how I stand on political issues and
controversial issues. There aren't many people that do that, and if
you're one of them: turn off the telly, stop grumbling at Bill
O'Reilly, stop rolling your eyes at Olbermann -- just completely put
Sarah Palin out of your mind -- this one's a plea to you to put that
education to use by infusing love and compassion into your debates (and
into your lives) otherwise you might as well not speak at all.
So, here I come to my blog of confession of the week to say: I'm pro-life.
I believe in the sanctity of all sentient life on the planet, from
pigs, cows, dogs -- all the way to vicious criminals, the sick, the
elderly, mothers who are carrying babies -- and those babies at every
stage of life.
But I've kept silent about these issues, because all of the
conversations that are taking place at this point in time are toxic and
full of hate. Nobody will ever listen to you if you have a pointed finger and spit venom in their face.
Interestingly enough, I'm surprised at how responsive people are to love.
We don't know how to care for unwanted children. We don't even know how to care for wanted
children. And we certainly don't know how to care for frightened
pregnant women. We don't seem to know how to care for any needy
Earthling. Our animals suffer. Our elderly suffer. Our sick suffer. Our
children suffer. All the people in between suffer... all because of
neglect and an idea that your life is more important than theirs.
It's not.
Because we teach each other to hate ourselves and to hate each other --
then it's no surprise that women feel isolated, alone, and scared with
nowhere to turn.
It's no surprise that we have children who are ignored and disrespected.
It's no surprise that we have date rape.
It's no surprise we have broken families.
It's no surprise we have intolerable abuse.
It's no surprise that someone wouldn't want to bring a life into this world.
Amidst all of that we learn that 35% of women will have had an abortion
by the time they're 45? 1.5M abortions a year? 1.5M hearts stop
beating. There is no excuse for that. No excuse for the suffering of
the children and no excuse for the suffering of the mothers who would
have to experience that kind of indignity.
Back to the issue of hate:
At the dog park on Friday, a woman was angry because a dog took her own
dog's ball and she told the dog's owner to "fuck off," and she yelled
that the dog was "fucking retarded."
What societal issues are encapsulated in this quick encounter?
Before you say this is rare behavior... how was your commute to work
this week? Did you rational, educated readers encounter any road rage?
By someone else? Yourself? How is this related to the abortion topic,
you might ask? Because we were taught self-righteous bullying for
survival, to make ourselves feel better, and even for comedic purposes.
That self-righteous bullying is coming across in our every aspect of
our lives, especially in our political issues.
How can a society based on hate and venom demonstrate love and compassion for women and children?
We don't. One side screams "Murder!" The other screams "Ignorance!"
The conversation starts with how can we change ourselves and our
community so that we are kinder and more compassionate with ourselves
and with every being. It starts with discussing how the dismissal of any life on Earth could possibly be OK.
It's not.
But the point of this post is to atone for the sin of remaining silent,
and to say that people with an education (with or without a degree)
have the responsibility to speak and facilitate compassionate conversations on how to seriously effect change, no matter what your beliefs are.
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This song,
in my opinion, is one of the best written songs to come around for a
while. Most definitely Zac Brown's most intriguing song to date. Even
if country music isn't your forté,
I think if you listen you will agree that this song is outstanding in
meaning and substance. Many of my non-country listening friends adore
this song and have listened to it on repeat for days after I introduced
it to them.
To
me, this song hits home because the male character in the song seems to
be a lot how people describe me and the lyrics speak of things I have
in my mind thought, or even said to someone before. The girl would give
up anything to be with this guy but she gets left behind by whatever is
keeping him away. If Zac Brown wrote this song about himself, then
maybe he's speaking of a dying romance because his dream of singing was
more important so he would leave for shows. The male in the song
obviously has commitment issues but is very torn. Part of the song says:
You're a lover, I'm a runner
And we go round and round
And I love you, but I leave you
I don't want you, but I need you
This is very
interesting to me because I have said those same things. Commitment
issues lie down further than the surface. Bad relationships, bad
childhood, even just a single bad experience can make this an issue.
Another thing is that she tells him that he is a "ramblin' man" and has
"a gypsy soul" and was "born for leaving," which he admits to as well.
Those are words that my friends often times describe me with, saying
every time I get close to ANYONE, I run. Or shut myself off...but find
myself conflicting my own opinion and trying to seek that presence that
the person involved brings to the table. Throughout the song he tells
her that he wants to see her, but uses the weather as a cop out and
says "maybe tomorrow will be better, can I call you then?" She knows
his ways but sticks around it seems like. But by the end of the song, a
waitress at a coffee shop and his surroundings make him realize how
much he misses his love and tells her that he knows they will be
together soon and that he can't wait till then! This ending is so
perfect for me. Because I know the feeling. I may stray and run from my
friends, family, or potential love interests, but I know at some point
I will stop the running and stubbornness and will gain control and I
always realize how important they are. So hopefully more people can
realize the internal conflict people like this face and realize that it
is not personal towards them in any way. It is just an internal issue.
He may only momentarily want to be with her -hence the reference to
saying it's a shame about the weather (if he was really sure he would
do what it took, regardless of weather conditions)-and can't wait to
see her, but the fact that the feeling is there, shows how much he
cares. This song is not only great because I relate to it tremendously,
but also because of the heartfelt performance Zac Brown gives to this
song. He is very emotional and very powerful. It has a great message.
As a girl described often as a "gypsy," I appreciate a song like this
that I can relate to.
Lyrics:
She'd trade Colorado If he'd take her with him Closes the door Before the winter lets the cold in And wonders if her love is Strong enough to make him stay She's answered by the taillights Shining through the window pane
He said, "I wanna see you again, But I'm stuck in colder weather Maybe tomorrow will be better, Can I call you then?" She said, "You're a ramblin' man And you ain't ever gonna change You got a gypsy's soul to blame And you were born for leaving"
At a truck stop diner Just outside a' Lincoln, The night is black as The coffee he was drinkin' And in the waitress' eyes He sees the same ole' light is shining He thinks of Colorado And the girl he left behind him
He said, "I wanna see you again, But I'm stuck in colder weather Maybe tomorrow will be better, Can I call you then?" She said, "You're a ramblin' man And you ain't ever gonna change You got a gypsy's soul to blame And you were born for leaving" Born for leaving
Well it's a winding road When you're in the lost and found You're a lover, I'm a runner And we go round and round And I love you, but I leave you I don't want you, but I need you You know it's you that calls me back here, baby!
Oh, I wanna see you again, But I'm stuck in colder weather Maybe tomorrow will be better, Can I call you then? Cause I'm a ramblin' man (I ain't ever gonna change) I ain't ever gonna change (I got a gypsy's soul to blame) And I was born for leaving Born for leaving
When I close my eyes I see you No matter where I am I can smell your perfume Through these whisperin' pines I'm with your ghost again It's a shame about the weather, But I know soon we'll be together And I can't wait till then I can't wait till then
Link to video of Live Performance (he has no official music video yet b/c the song is still fairly new :( sorry!!!! )
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| Liz Carter |
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| Trudy Hart |
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Elizabeth Carter
About Me
A ravenous, roaming martian girl in search of what it means to be human.
What would you name your ballet inspired by the sight of children leaping through a garden sprinkler?
Cheese-ball Redux.
Interests
Favorite Movies
Favorite Music
Favorite Books
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