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27135. bhelpuri - 1/3/2013 2:00:24 PM Viva Connnor, and also ib (times three) and all else here. Happy New Year. 27136. judithathome - 1/3/2013 6:06:53 PM "We've been watching "Game of thrones" which is nicely cathartic"
The production values in that series rival any movie released today...I can't wait for Season Three to start! I'm not one for "fantasy" but this show has me hooked. 27137. robertjayb - 1/8/2013 8:08:09 PM HooRay! Thunder and hard rain just started here nortwest of Houston with more predicted for a couple of days. I've begun to worry about our trees. 27138. robertjayb - 1/10/2013 7:34:08 PM Pleased to report very welcome 4.2" total rain with more possible at the weekend. 27139. arkymalarky - 1/10/2013 11:24:18 PM Yay! 27140. Ms. No - 1/21/2013 12:23:13 AM Some people drunk dial or text. My friend drunk drops-in because he's always losing his phone with my number in it.
I don't see him for months or sometimes a couple of years at a time and the last few times I've seen him, he is looking more and more like the sort of man that people avoid on the street.
He looked homeless when he showed up last night with his dog. He isn't homeless, but he looked it.
And he wants to reminisce about old times and talk theater as if we were still in school. He mentions people that we knew as if we still were in touch with them --- likely to see them on a daily basis.
Last night around about beer four and hour two-and-a-half, he went off on a tangent about the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock which I ought to be ashamed to admit that I've never much cared for. I read it once. I didn't get it and didn't care to spend any time trying to.
So, anyway, my friend is looking at me and comparing himself to Prufrock. He's nearly in tears talking about wasted potential and the spark that's still left if only to endure and play a sideline role. And I think maybe he's remembering that I used to be in love with him and how he turned me away less than kindly because he thought I wasn't quite worthy to be seen with him.
But it's cold outside and I've really had enough of drunken ramblings and I'm embarrassed for him and hoping none of my neighbors come out to see who's being so loud, and even though I don't have it in me to tell him he needs to leave, he must finally get the idea that he's far overstayed his welcome.
And so he left, and I wish him well and happiness, but I also don't ever again want to see what's become of the man I used to know. And I really don't like to think of how much he reminds me of my father.
Damn Freud. 27141. arkymalarky - 1/21/2013 1:14:27 AM Sorry No. That may happen more as you get older. I love the poem, but at heart Prufrock is a coward, too concerned about the opinions of others to take a chance on expressing the depth of understanding he believes he possesses. In the end, he resugns himself to his mental mediocrity without even sharing with the reader. So does he have that depth? Who knows. And with your friend obviously no one cares. Good to see he certainly wasn't worthy of you and his own shallowness helped you dodge a mess, it sounds like. 27142. Ms. No - 1/21/2013 1:55:53 AM Yeah, I came to that realization years ago. It was just shocking to see him last night. Such a sad, sad waste.
I feel like a bad person when I want to cut ties with old friends. While on the one hand I don't feel like I've changed, on the other, I feel like they've stagnated and I've continued to progress. I don't know how both can be true, but it feels that way.
Or maybe it's that so many of my friends seem to be getting old and set in their ways and because of the circumstances of my life, I'm still moving because I haven't got where I want to be, yet.
All the more motivation for me to get busy and get out of this town. It fossilizes people. 27143. judithathome - 1/21/2013 11:00:58 PM One thing that sets you apart is your ability to convey through writing...anything.
That post about the late night visit was beautifully written and I felt like it had happened to ME...you can write, woman!! 27144. Ms. No - 1/22/2013 4:58:58 AM Thanks, Judith. I used to write, but got out of the habit...or more like I never really formed a good habit, just took lazy advantage of being in situations where it was easy to write.
The last couple of years co-advising the Creative Writing Club at my school have been good for me. I had forgotten how much I liked to write and now I've got a regular time to do it each week.
Recently I attended my first grown-up writing group in more than 20 years. It was pretty cool. I'll definitely be going back. I like writing with my students, but I have to censor myself sometimes.
27145. bhelpuri - 1/22/2013 7:41:06 AM Yes, No, that is beautifully written. Do more! 27146. Ms. No - 1/24/2013 8:33:44 PM Thanks! We'll see what comes up. 27147. alistairconnor - 1/25/2013 5:47:43 PM hum hum, there's even a thread for it... yes I loved that story, No.
I've been thinking about writing, and I do enjoy it, and I'm just too damned undisciplined. I realised that my best writing has been done right here, live with no editing, in the posting window, with the (self-imposed) character limit partly determining the length of the episodes. Scary. 27148. PsychProf - 1/30/2013 12:53:17 PM For old school Fraysters, I hear from Bruce Brown now and then....he still sends out humor. 27149. bhelpuri - 2/3/2013 12:11:36 PM Nothing scary about it, Connor. This forum and its predecessor was where I learned (a) that I still wanted to be a writer, (b) that I could be good, and (c) I actually might have something to say that people might value. Nowadays - shocking but true - I am paid handsomely by word, but believe me take no greater pains than I ever did for you all at Le Mote.
27150. bhelpuri - 2/3/2013 12:13:36 PM Thinking back, probably some of the crucial writing that led me to today has been executed here for y'all. D'you appreciate?!
27151. bhelpuri - 2/3/2013 12:23:46 PM Still thinking back, t'was the audience that did it. Always had the idea that my painstaking word-counts here would be savoured by people who care. Now remembering the early days with Snod, Hashke, Ariel, so many extraordinary people...
Must note that Khan specifically provided much impetus for me in the early years, probably because I felt compelled to correct his waywardness! But where is he now? I sincerely cannot appreciate this disappearing for no good reason, after so much profitable exchange over so many years. Come back, asshole, all is forgiven! 27152. bhelpuri - 2/3/2013 12:35:56 PM I recall many, many years ago encountering this cast of characters in a Yahoo chatroom. Of course none of you has been in one, but at one time the Internet was still a novelty, Yahoo was a new corporation with potential, and Internet chat was a tantalyzing, and irresistible new development.
So old Uncle Bhel signed into Yahoo chat and found a 'Fray' chatroom at the top of the "current" list. Then entered into a huge discussion, with everyone distraught because 'AlexKhan' was quitting their online forum.
Of course he never did, but the relatively funny thing is I eventually found myself alone with our own Connor.
Said our guy, 'chat is not much, but the Fray is Literature'! Cue Masterpiece Theatre music, and my own curious entry into your company... 27153. bhelpuri - 2/3/2013 12:39:06 PM Also, Connor, you were thinking of a trip myways. Come, man! I have not had a Motard encounter for years now... 27154. arkymalarky - 2/3/2013 8:12:46 PM I didn't know Bruce Brown but I started the Fray at Dad's suggestion. He wasn't a regular but was here just enough for PE to call him an idiot. Probably two or three posts worth. Not realizing it was a rite of passage, he didn't stay but apparently thought I would enjoy it.
The writing I've done here has served me immensely and will continue to, whether I go back to using it wrt education issues or in some other capacity. It's such an enjoyable process when you're surrounded by good writers. The flame wars were tedious and stupid, but the vast majority of interaction was primo.
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