Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Observations... On the Amusements of a Cat

A cat does not play checkers, or monopoly, or solitaire. A cat does not play at tea parties or dress up or Barbie Dolls. Though a great many cats are quite fond of staring contests and hide and seek, as long as they are the ones doing all the hiding and you are the one doing all the seeking. A cat will sometimes play tag, if the dog is swift enough to catch the cat and doesn’t mind being caught in return. A cat is also not adverse to a good game of soccer, if the ball jingles and no score is kept. Some cats will watch T.V. if it is showing a wildlife show or a sport with a moving ball or puck that they can chase across the screen. Some cats even take great pleasure in watching dust fall in the sunlight or watching birds through the window glass. A cat might even play the piano if you leave the keys uncovered, though very rarely well. For a cat, even a late afternoon nap can become a form of amusement.
Though they have many games to choose from, a cat’s favorite game to play is the Let’s-Watch-Things-Fall game. The rules of this game are simple. First, find someplace high off the ground like a table or a counter. Next, find something on it to push around with your paw and knock over the edge. Then you stare forlornly after the thing as it falls and keep looking at it indignantly until a human comes along, picks it up, and puts it back on the table for you to knock off all over again. If no one comes by to pick it up then just find something else to knock over. Above all you must be patient when playing this game. Eventually someone will notice and come over to make a scene. This game is especially entertaining when played at night on top of a dresser when the humans are asleep.
Though a cat might find this game very amusing, the average human does not. This misunderstanding can lead to a very confused cat being thrown outside in the middle of the night wondering what on earth they did wrong. Luckily by the time the humans let the cat back inside the next morning the cat has moved on and holds no grudge. Cats can sometimes be very forgiving souls.
In the end, though a cat cannot play video games or thumb wrestle or read a book, and though a cat cannot hula hoop or ride a bike or play tic-tac-toe, the amusements that a cat does keep are entirely more than adequate. The only thing more fun for a cat to play with than a jingle ball or a paper bag or a bit of string, is the person holding on to the other end of the string, their beloved owner. Though at times the amusements of a cat may take on strange and un-fathomable forms, we are never to busy to play along if it makes a cat happy.

Observations... On What the Snow Left Behind

Just before the first winter snow hits everyone rushes to clean up their yard. They go about gathering up lawn chairs, hoses, bikes, and children’s toys so that nothing will get buried beneath the snow. When the snow finally comes everything is crisp, white and clean. The landscape is pristine and perfect. There is no trash on the side of the roads, no toys scattered across the yard, and no dead withered grass or mulched leaves. Just a blanket of pure white. At least until the snow melts.

When the snow melts it leaves behind a plethora of objects. Some, like the tennis ball and the hoola hoop, are things that never got put away in the fall. Others, like the empty ice cream bucket and the variety of tin cans have accumulated over the winter. Each object provides a tiny bit of insight into how people have been spending their winter. Have they been worrying about the bike that got left in their front yard? Have they been drinking a lot of coke and eating fast food every Friday? Have they been whooping it up at a party advertised in crumpled pink flyer? Or have they been out searching for a spare tire or the mate to a missing left shoe?

Some objects are a complete mystery and reveal almost nothing about the people that left them. Is that strange looking piece of melted yellow plastic the remains of a tent stake or highway cone? Is the small white plastic hoop a washer or a ring and is it a bit of machinery or fashion? Is the small bit of twisted metal a piece of soda can or a cookie tray? Could it even possibly be the fused together links of the chain off of a chainsaw? Chances are no one will ever know for sure.

If a brief walk of fifty feet can reveal all these things imagine what you might find if you walked for two hundred feet or if you drove for several miles. There’s no telling what the snow might leave behind. From bottle caps to animal bones to unidentifiable pieces of melted plastic, the ground after the snow first melts is a virtual treasure trove (or flea market) of discoveries.

Observations... On the Renewal of Spring and Spring Cleaning

The transition from winter to spring is often something that people look forward to. It is a time when the cold of winter is replaced by the warmth of spring and a once barren wasteland becomes alive and thriving once more. The cold snow begins to melt away, revealing the green grass and early flowers beneath. The trees, once bare and naked, begin to dress themselves in fresh new foliage. The birds that left for the winter begin to return and the air is filled with their twitters and songs. Soon there will be a rash of new life as other animals, perhaps roaming alone during the cold months, find each other and baby animals are born. Even the insects, conspicuously absent throughout the winter, return in force to go about their business, pollinating flowers and “bugging” people with their buzz and bite.

There is nothing quite like the first thaw of spring. The slush melt beneath your boots, the sun shining down on you, and finally being able to go out without the hassle of a heavy coat, scarf, and earmuffs. While most folks look forward to spring and the renewal of life that comes along with it, there are a few folks who aren’t so pleased to see the arrival of spring. For these people, spring means the arrival of the dreaded spring cleaning.

Spring cleaning, the scourge of every housewife and stay at home mom, or dad, in the northland, can be a renewing but terribly difficult task. It requires an effort and determination that normal household cleaning will not satisfy. Everything must be aired out and dusted. All the old and broken must be hauled away. Things must be packed up and placed in storage until next winter and other things must be unpacked put away for use in the spring and summer. Furniture gets moved around, rearranged and vacuumed under. Bookshelves get organized and pantries and refrigerators get cleaned out. Every nook and cranny is explored and swept. Every surface is polished until it shines. Every sheet is pressed or ironed so there is not a wrinkle or a crease to be found. Until at last, it is finished. Your home is spotless and clean. You can finally sit back and relax. You can enjoy a well organized home and breathe in a breath of dust and dirt free air. Until the kids come home with mud on their shoes to innocently spoil this hard earned perfection.

But in its own way, spring cleaning can be a renewing and fulfilling experience. As the winter gives way to spring and new life emerges from the barren waste, the dirt and mess of neglect gives way to a clean and revitalized home. Hard work has its own rewards, and having a clean home can give you a chance to relax and get away from your troubles, even if it is only temporary.

Obsevations... On Spring Snowstorms

Ah spring. A wonderful time of year when all the snow has melted away and the grass has started to show through once more. The seagulls and the geese return from their winter homes and slumbering bears awaken. Warm days and lazy nights await. But just when you think spring has finally come, Old Man Winter decides to give it one more go just in case you’ve forgotten him.

And it all happens on the one night you decide to leave your car out in the driveway instead of in the garage too. Now you have to shovel it out of a foot of snow. And on top of that you just finished putting away all your snow gear and have to go rooting around in storage looking for the darn shovel in the first place. Not to mention the fact that even if you get your car un-buried you won’t be able to drive anywhere anyway.

Everything is covered in a fresh layer of snow. Aside from the poor visibility and having to shovel the walk, this might not be so bad after all. You could get in one last run on the snowmobile, unless you’ve forgotten about the open water in the ditch under the snow and wind up stuck in a swamp. If you haven’t put away your cross country skis you could go out on the trail one last time, if you don’t mind having to re-break the whole thing in a blizzard. You could always build a snowman, at least if the snow is sticky enough, which it is, and you wind up soaking wet.

Well, looks like the best thing for a spring snowstorm is to curl up inside next to a cozy fire with a good book. It will probably be a book you’ve already read this winter, and the fire won’t be big since you ran out of firewood last week and didn’t think you’d need more so soon. You could watch T.V., except the signal was scrambled in the storm and there’s nothing but repeats on anyway. You could call a friend to talk but like the T.V. signal, cell phones are down too. At least you have your hard line, that’s something.

You could make a fresh batch of snow cones to pass the time. School will likely be canceled so either you won’t have to go or you’ll get to spend some quality time with the kids (provided they don’t drive you crazy first). You can finally get your spring cleaning done, since you don’t have anything else to do. If all else fails, you can go back to bed and sleep in, when was the last time you had the chance to do that?

So, if a little (okay a lot of) unexpected spring snow turns up, you can at least be happy with some time off for yourself. Use it wisely. And remember, spring has sprung and Old Man Winter can’t hold out forever.

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