by Michele Finn Johnson
Naming the Giants
(or Le Nom sur mon Coeur: Jorge TBD Saunders)
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Michele Finn Johnson and Karen Palmer, out in Grand Lake as nature intended.[/caption]
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Kristen, not Kirsten.[/caption]
Kristen is pregnant; Kirsten is not. Barbara and Barbara—one of them is my #1 (oh SNAP! She taught me to speak New York!). Susan goes by Susan and not Sue, which is good, because we already had a Sue, as in Sue Carol Robinson, whose initials I plan to tattoo into tender skin {heart}. To speak tattoo is to speak Deanna, whom I called Deanna, which sounds altogether more writerly and thus she must MUST use this on her book jacket. Back to 2X names—Jim + Jim = why did this confuse me? Were there two Nancy’s? Nooooo—Only Nancy. Too many singular names to get them all just right. [note: use roster to type 2014 blog]. But there were {my special ones}. You know who you are. NOT naming names, but Courtney (oh how I wish it were true!) might make me a 50-year-old bridesmaid!!! And we just met!!! Oh, the power of Grand Lake + Tuscan Love Buttons + River Bend Cabin + tsetse fly bite venom…sigh.
Andrea (my first!). You picked George Saunders {my new special one! My Jorge!} and I am forever changed (as in finally have a freaking opening to my batty short story, thanks to you and Jorge!). Jenny and Lauren Groff tag-teamed my brain and POOF, ending to the aforementioned batty short story (lfsf). A-freakin-MEN. Ransick filled my imagination with avocados {found her hair a year later! File in ‘Do not forget’ category!} and my nostrils with scotch. Xoxoxoxo. Henderson (Hendo/Fake Dad-husband/faCULTy member). You know what you’ve done for my writing—nuff said/oh SNAP! {don’t I sound native NY??} No time (NONE!) to take workshops w/ Henry and Palmer {sad face next to SCR on tender heart}. But I got osmotic juju vibes from both, which is fab-u-lous.
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The lake of the name Grand Lake.[/caption]
And then there were three. The Injured. ROG!! I’d give you a tendon if you needed it (say no). Victoria bounced back and came back!! [note: dedicate myself to writing over physical pain. Be like Victoria (and a little like Roger, in a fuzzy Percocet kind of way).] And the Shadowcliff soccer chick who broke her leg in 2 places (or was that lfsf?) and self-henna’d her hands the next day. [note: not so hard to find time to polish own nails, relatively speaking.]
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Where we were for a week.[/caption]
Denis Johnson—gave me a pit {equation: avocado – hair – green stuff = ugh, I can’t write like that} in my stomach all afternoon…I’m no good I’m no good never can be as wowser as that… until Hendo reminded me that I’m not supposed to be that but holy cow, aim high, sister!! [He did not talk jive. I made that up. Lfsf.] Lauren Groff gave me story entry points without even being in the room!! Donald Hall = amaze-balls. And George. Jorge. Holy freedom of expression. {joy!} Depending on his middle initial [doesn’t use = mysterious = maybe he’d let me middle-name him??], I may move SCR to my ankle/hip/non-showy place and place my Jorge in his rightful, well-deserved, place <3.
These are the giants that elevated my writing last week. Grand Lake 2013. Sigh.
P.S. Kristen (not Kirsten): some very fine baby names to choose from are listed above (minus Jorge’s middle name, TBD, yet to-be-chosen). I was thinking about using J. Diego, but if you want to use it, I’ll forgo.
