Language arts is the difference between the possible and the impossible.
Can we return to childhood?
Would you want to?
Or . . .
Do you just need an adjustment?
Was laughter endless, dreams bigger?
What did you think the last time you spent time with someone longing to be a child again, who laughed endlessly?
I like the idea, but usually with someone who lives it out, there are problems.
They’ve lost contact with reality, where concerns and fears take over.
Will I be okay?
Have I done enough?
Am I doing enough?
It’s easy to say yes and call it good.
Really, who wants to dredge up every question for a better answer.
If you wonder if you were a good person, well, there’s work to do.
I’ve got a wife and kids who answer for me, and that’s a good thing since I have doubts.
Have I set the proper standard going forward?
In my early life there were no questions.
Mom, Dad, brothers, and sister. It was a full house.
It was a normal family, except for the family planning part.
What plan?
If I were to plan my childhood family I’d make a few changes, starting with birth order.
My sister would be first, then me, followed by my younger brother, with older brother at the end.
Why? Because of the attention each of us needed.
With the years between each kid, big brother at the end would have been raised as an only child and thrived.
With him at the end of the line my parents would have stayed married ‘for the kid.’
He would have been the glue that kept them together since I heard one of them say the same thing.
Hey Ma.
Little brother would still be in the first grouping, and sister would have ruled us all, which seems like a good idea since she knows what she’s doing.
Changing birth order, just not my place, or little brother’s place?
Do that and I wouldn’t mind being a child again.
Dreams Lead To Fears?
I once dreamed of being competent, but once I got older and met more people, I knew my dream needed to get bigger.
Better than competent? Now that’s a dream.
My Dad’s dream was quitting the insurance business and becoming a teacher by forty.
He talked about it in front of his kids.
Three out of four went to the same college he did; two graduated.
Two out of four became teachers, with advanced degrees.
Neither one was me.
I graduated on the non-traditional student path.
College, Army, Philadelphia, college, NYC, Portland, college, marriage, kids, more college, then graduating.
Check ‘about’ for the special moment.
It was special enough for a family gathering, if I remember right.
I was thirty-nine at the time, a robust nearly forty year old.
That’s seventy year old David in the shot and he still thinks he could kick your ass.
Just because I lost my only street fight to a 5’3″ little shit doesn’t affect my confidence.
To be honest it wasn’t much of a fight.
Facing off against Chuck Palahniuk in Powells was more deadly.
It was a language arts showdown he did with everyone at his reading.
The street fight was just me helping out a girl taking a beating from her boyfriend at a bus stop on NW 21st across from Cinema 21..
After I stopped it with my face, the tiny terror took off and she went with him.
Was I wrong to intervene?
I don’t think so, besides, chicks dig scars, right?
When the guy was arrested a short time later in Couch Park, she stood up for him.
I did my part as a responsible citizen, stopped the fight, and gave her a chance to get away if she wanted to get away, which she didn’t.
Language Arts For The Well Informed
The unspoken rule in language arts is understanding the message.
The message in this picture is, ‘girls just want to have fun.’
With a fun guy, me.
How fun? Not that much fun, but the beer hat is a fun magnet.
On that day a similar gathering happened over and over.
No wall flowers at the beer festival, just letting it out a little and feeling good about it.
Beer and trust. The trust part took a hit when some of the women wanted to wear the hat.
I’m not a ‘cootie’ guy, but a hat rule is a hat rule.
If you dream of being well informed in the language arts, but afraid to ask how, what better place to start than Shakespeare.
The more you read from him, the more you hear his voice in modern idioms.
It’s an ‘aha’ moment.
This was the treasured book for all English majors.
Like this was the book for all art majors.
I took the classes the books were intended for, but graduated as a history guy.
No matter your profession, or hobbies, proficiency in the language arts is always a plus.
It comes in handy when you hear, “That fucking fucker has fucked up more shit than any simple fuck I’ve ever known.”
What they’re trying to say in their profane way is, “They are prone to making mistakes.”
You need to know that.
Which one do you prefer?
How would you say, “Take me back to when laughter was endless, and my dreams were bigger than my fears?”
Give it a shot.
About David Gillaspie
