On the television news last night, they had a video of two guys who ran towards a burning car to pull out the woman driver. They saved her life.
They ran TOWARDS a burning car.
There was also a story about Scot Peterson, the security cop in Florida who is going on trial for neglecting his duty during a mass shooting. He allegedly hid outside while the shootings occurred.
Two separate acts involving life and death situations. Two completely different reactions.
We are such complicated creatures!
In 1997 I was teaching middle school here in Olympia when one day we had a pretty sizable earthquake. Light fixtures were swaying, desks toppled, you couldn’t stand up, that sort of earthquake, and it was scarier than hell. I saw a student, who was outside on recess when the earthquake began, run into the school building to see if he could help someone. I saw a teacher run outside screaming.
We are such complicated creatures!
Doing volunteer work in Louisiana, circa 1970, teaching the underprivileged how to read, I saw a “hanging tree” in New Iberia Parish. You can guess why it was called “the hanging tree.” I saw a group of black children walk unconcerned underneath that tree on the way to school. Ten minutes later I saw a middle-aged white woman in a beautiful white gown step out of her car, kneel at the base of that tree, and say a prayer.
We are such complicated creatures!
Writers convey these things to their readers. We make these scenes come alive for those who did not see them, or if it is fiction we present it in such a way that it seems real. We give voice to the human condition, and by doing so we form connections among us all.
Don’t you dare take for granted the abilities you’ve been given.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 