Thoughts...

I had an interesting thought this morning as I was reflecting on Jennifer Donnelly's speech at the Conference. She said that much of her inspiration comes from stories told by her family members as she was growing up. I started to think about stories that I heard as I was growing up, and I got a little sad because I moved around quite a bit up until age 13 or so. I feel like a got short-changed, in a way, because the cities that I moved to had no history for me- my family simply plopped there. I know a few stories about Binghamton, some about Chicago, where my grandmother grew up, and a few family anecdotes, but that's it. There's nothing really rich in what I know about my family's past.

My favorite story was one that my grandmother used to tell me. Her father owned a tavern in the heart of Chicago. He served all types of people there, from prominant buisiness people, to families, to the hardcore mobsters in the city's underground. My grandma used to work for her father after school. She was sort of like a bus-girl clearning tables, occasionally bringing food to the customers. She and her parents lived in the floors above this tavern in Chicago. After her shift one night, she wearily climbed the stairs to their home. She had been looking out the window onto the street for a while when she saw a man leave the tavern. Simultaneously, a car drove by and she heard a single gunshot. The man fell to the ground: he had been shot. Later that night, her father came to her bedroom and made her swear never to tell anyone what she had seen. The man was a gangster- and if she dared tell what she saw, her life, and the lives of her family may be in danger.

I loved this story- it gave a little flair to the boring life that I thought I had when I was little. It kind of made me feel important too- like the History Channel might come interview me sometime for a documentary on Chicago's mob life.

I'd like to encourage all of you to think about stories that you may have heard when you were younger and share them. Think of it as a quickie creative writing session... look back into your childhood and find your favorite anecdotes....