Conversations with Calliope- Meeting the Neighbors

(Meeting the Neighbors)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Relieved?
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: My new website design is completed and apparently functioning normally although I will do some more testing yesterday.
CALLIOPE: Did you spend your whole day at it again?
JOE: Not entirely. Our neighbors suffered the loss of a family member. Carol baked some brownies and I took them over.
CALLIOPE: Did you know the neighbors?
JOE: Just a nodding acquaintance. I had never had a conversation with them.
CALLIOPE: And yesterday?
JOE: They invited me to sit with them on their veranda and we spent quite a bit of pleasant time together.
CALLIOPE: Was there a lesson there for you?
JOE: Yes. I realized that the whole point of working on my website was to communicate with people. I became lost in the technology for a while and lost sight of the purpose.
CALLIOPE: Good realization.
JOE: I think so. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope-Dialogue with My Muse

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today.
JOE: So far, so good. Carol and I had a delightful breakfast and are ready for the day's events.
CALLIOPE: Which are?
JOE: Her first gig in a parade as Fuzzy the Clown. She's a little concerned about the predicted heat but we have water planned along the way just in case.
CALLIOPE: What else?
JOE: Pat and Dick invited us to their pool later to refresh ourselves after the parade.
CALLIOPE: Any literary adventures planned today.
JOE: Not particularly. I don't think I'll have time for any formal activities. I plan to take my camera to the parade to see if I can spot any characters or incidents worthy of note for future reference. That's about it.
CALLIOPE: So, a little break from writing?
JOE: Indeed. I think it helps every once in a while to step back and look around to see what is happening. I noted several unusual characters at concerts the past two nights. Unfortunately I forgot my camera last night to record the most unusual.
CALLIOPE: What do you mean by unusual?
JOE: Very strange body types as if a person were constructed by committee using spare parts. Also combinations of clothing left over from the show, What Not to Wear.
CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do with these observations?
JOE: I would like to use them as characters in my short stories and perhaps as minor characters in my novels. Time to start observing again. Talk with you on Monday.
(Oatka Festival Parade- Leroy, NY)

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. But most of today is busy with other people.
CALLIOPE: Is that bad?
JOE: Depends on how you look at it. I won't have much if any time to continue working on writing style.
CALLIOPE: What's the upside?
JOE: Most of what I read yesterday suggested or outright demanded that a good writer needs to be a good observer of people first and then combine observations with invention and fantasy.
CALLIOPE: Is that a problem?
JOE: No, but I wish I had done a better job of observing people over the years. I have mostly focused on thoughts and motivations and to some extent feelings but have largely ignored people's physical presentation.
CALLIOPE: How do you suppose that happened?
JOE: I can think of two influences. As a child I was always in trouble for one thing or another, usually mislaying one or another of my father's tools. My tendency was to become as unobtrusive as possible. I lived defensively.
CALLIOPE: And the other?
JOE: In the monastery we had a practice of mortification of the eyes, which meant not looking at others. Even though this was only for a limited time during my life, I think it had a lasting influence. It gave me the chance to continue the anonymity I sought in childhood.
CALLIOPE: Quite a set of realizations. What do you plan to do about the situation?
JOE: Work on being more observant and being comfortable having people see me observing. I'll start working on it during my hours of people contact today. That's the rest of the upside of having a busy people day. Talk with you tomorrow.
On the Beach- Martha's Vineyard)

Bee and Human Stings

I was thinking about bees and people the other day. Bees sting to protect their hives and the price for the individual bee is that the bee dies. Stinging is a mortal decision. I wondered what would happen if human attacks on others had a similar mortal result for the attacker. How readily would we attack each other either verbally or physically? Might we not be more careful to choose a less aggressive path?

(Bee stinger)