I heard an interview with a pianist on NPR this morning, and aren’t you impressed that I listen to NPR in the morning? Is there any more pseudo-intellectual acronym-dropping you can do at the lunch table or water cooler? Maybe referring to The Onion, though to properly acronym drop, you’d have to say “The O,” which is actually a magazine by Oprah Winfrey, so you’d be doing more harm than good.
I remember one thing about the interview. She said she was given an assignment to perform for a recital, and since she was pregnant, she wanted the piece she studied to be as monumental as the arrival of a child would be. So she chose a technically impossible piece to do.
I have three sons. Is it too much to ask that I write something significant in honor of each of the three of them? Could I have at least done that? Most of my stories are about my oldest son, Jack. There’s nothing commemorating David and nothing for Ben. Have I been that wrapped up in myself that I could not compose something moderately difficult for each of them. I wrote a story collection in 2001, which really began in 1999. I could have written something for David from 2004 until now. I mean David is so inspiring and a wonder. How could I have overlooked those years?
I once wrote a story on turning 32. Does that mean I’m self-centered?
Ben is only three months old, so there’s still time for him. But what about David? His three years cannot be represented by three years of nothing written, so I have to write in honor of him first and then work on Ben. That’s OK because Ben doesn’t really know what’s going on anyway. He’s still in the lump stage of his life, with the occasional smile when he thinks he might get picked up or fed.
3 Comments
frank, you write what you want to write. there’s no “should”. i mean, it’s nice if your boys inspire you to write, but everything’s environmental and circumstantial and different. and i’m sure as they get older, you’ll find more things to say, pick bits and pieces of them. i mean, think about it - the birth of a first child is monumental. the ones that come after, it’s not that they’re less important, but you kinda got it down this time around. it’s not the unknown the way it is the first time, right? so it’s more likely the first time around, to stick with you and be something you want to write about. but im sure as they grow, you’ll find more you have to say…
angelle’s right. besides, they won’t REALLY enjoy what you’ve written for them until they’re at least 15, anyway. so you have plenty of time.
“I once wrote a story on turning 32. Does that mean I’m self-centered?”
No, it doesn’t. Some of the people who write about themselves all the time are self-centered– and some are not.
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