bird by bird

I decided to read "bird by bird" by Anne Lamott for my first book. I had ideas of how symbolic my first book would be, that people would catch my first blog post and then follow my blog religiously for the rest of the year... but when the time came to choose a book I had no way to get to the library and was up to my ears in grandparents (who I love) and graduation cake. 


That being said, since this reading challenge will require a lot of writing (here on this handy blog) I decided to read a book on writing. 


Anne Lamott writes sexy books. This is the third of hers I've read (Traveling Mercies and Plan B are great too) and when I read her books I want to take off my shoes, dance in the rain, kiss a homeless man (because he deserves love) and see the good in little things. Plus, I giggle when I read profanity. 


For anyone that is wanting to be a writer, she lays everything out in a succinct (237 pages), easy to read "how to" on writing that reads more like a inspiring memoir. She speaks of finding identity in the print word, and the unromantic process of publishing. 


For people that are starting to write she tells them to start writing about their childhood, and so here is a snippet from mine:


The floor is lava! Quick, jump on the bed! Goosey (with the help of 5 year old Melody) snatches teddy from the floor (aka lava pit). Some stuffed animals weren't so lucky, and there will be a funeral and an imaginary tea party in their honor. Daddy's invited-- lets build a fort! Hopefully he won't fall asleep in it this time. 


My house on Mill Court in Portland, Oregon was the perfect house for a kid. From jumping down the laundry shoot to sliding down a matress on the stairs, we lived well. A few days ago my mom mentioned that we only got pets in South Africa and I reminder her of our pets in Portland:


- Prince Charles (a cockatiel who could whistle the wedding march)
- nameless bird (who flew away)
- Matthew (our angora rabbit who's fur my brother pulled out and kept in a shoebox because he thought it was worth money)
- Mittens (an evil black and white cat who, as his name says, had white feet)
-Sparkle ( a lovely cat who fell in our swimming pool, drowned and then the water froze over)
- Torty (a tortoise)
- Possy (a baby possum, best friends with Torty)
- Sneaky (a garter snake who had a bad habit of sneaking out of his tank)
- Oscar (a corgi mix)


Conventional names for unconventional pets who were my best friends when my brother was away with the neighbor kids playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 


Until tomorrow.