Paul Richardson: Second opinions sometimes

I don’t normally have any trouble writing. It’s not a writer’s block that I encounter, it is more like rejection of stories that I probably shouldn’t share or when the good wife reads one and then states, “Oh, you can’t print that.” That’s a sure giveaway.

Another give-away is when the good wife reads one and then proclaims, “That’s kind of droll.” I’m thinking, “Well, isn’t she just special. All that hard work in pressing those keys to put that story to paper and she just comes along and proclaims, isn’t that droll. Who does she think she is?”

Well, she’s the good wife and if she says the last one was kind of droll, then maybe I just better lick that calf over. I usually have several ideas started and I’m starting to think that maybe I am sharing too much. You all may be getting more information than you need and maybe I might need to embellish more, providing you with more fictional work.

That’s hard to do. If you have led a colorful life, you don’t have to make this stuff up. There are some things that I really don’t want to share as long as my dear mother is still reading this column. I don’t want to lose that special shine that comes with a mother believing that her son was perfect and flawless. I am not worried about being cut out of the family or losing the benefits of being an heir, but I would like to get to set with the rest of family during future events and gatherings. Write the wrong stuff and one might find themselves rummaging through the dumpster out back just for something to do.

It’s one thing to have an incident. refer to the incident or how life changed after the incident. You can talk about the incident or tell stories referencing the incident, but write it down, committing it to a form that cannot be ignored, and some people get all nervous. Family knows that people know, but family doesn’t want outsiders to be able to use reference material to remind everyone of my exploits.

The good wife accuses me of just opening my mouth and everything immediately falls out. She is quick to sweep all of that verbal aside or if she is alert at the beginning of the story, she can fall to floor and start foaming at the mouth. That really draws the attention and impedes the listening and the storytelling.

I guess rejection is just to be expected if you ask someone to proof your work or start shopping around for a second opinion. Maybe I should just start pushing the writings directly out the door. It would be freeing, like leaving home without underwear or playing a kazoo in a movie. The kind of incidents that begin with the words, “watch this." I have several stories that begin with that and go off the tracks from there! Yet this one made it through!
(Paul Richardson's column, The Horse I Rode In On, is published weekly in the Neosho Daily News, Seneca News-Dispatch, Aurora Advertiser and on the Turner Report.)