by Jake Barnes
I teach a writing class at the Senior Center. I have a student who wears leg braces and can walk a little with the aid of crutches, but he mostly gets about in a wheelchair. He was the victim of an auto accident when he was in his teens.
When I am down in the dumps, sometimes I think of David. His injury was a long time ago. He is cheerful and funny, and his prose is excellent, his poetry not very good. His rhymes are awful. I keep encouraging him to write stories not poems, but I think he enjoys writing things that don't fit together. Things that stumble.
I was feeling sorry for myself one day, and I read one of his stories about his stay in the hospital after his injury. He made friends with a fellow who spent part of the time in an iron lung. The young man was a painter. His arms and legs were paralyzed. He held the brush in his teeth. He was a terrific painter, my student said. His paintings sold like crazy.
I am not aging gracefully. This morning I woke up mad at my wife and mad at the world. Last night my wife told me to stop whining. Her exact words were “Suck it up.” I didn't appreciate that. Then I thought what David would say. He'd say, “I resemble that.” That brought a smile to my face. Resemble, not resent. Good, old David. He's always kidding around.
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True story.
For the record, "I am not aging gracefully" would be a good start to a poem. I see a poem in that...anyway.*
People like David are the true angels in our lives. *
*. Like this a whole lot!
"I am not aging gracefully. This morning I woke up mad at my wife and mad at the world. Last night my wife told me to stop whining. Her exact words were “Suck it up.”
Your shifts are perfect, Jake.
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Typo in last graph.
This reminds me, and I hope can remind us all, that writers do not, by a long stretch, have the market cornered on insights about anything at all, really.
I like the simplicity and matter of factness of this, but in it's simplicity it tells a wonderful story and sends a great message.
Perfect tribute to the Davids in our lives. I totally understand his delight in writing things that stumble.
great tenderness in this.
I saw 'David' yesterday in Walmart.
He was in a great mood.
;-)
Jake, for David, writing poetry is like trying to walk normally. It's the challenge, not the result. Nice work.
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Aging gracefully becomes less and less a possibility. Enjoyed the read, Jake.
"..but I think he enjoys writing things that don't fit together. Things that stumble." Fav **
* Good shit man! Makes me stop and consider…..
Things that stumble . . . are us. *
Aging gracefully is an oxymoron, but some suck it up better than others.*
"he enjoys writing things that don't fit together". I love that. *
I keep encouraging him to write stories not poems, but I think he enjoys writing things that don't fit together. Things that stumble.
I love "things that stumble." Perfect here.
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