Category: Writing

Words Of Eloquence
Rafa Nadal · tennis · Writing

Words Of Eloquence

Amy12 Comments

“I will try to take another step forward in Madrid, then in Rome, and, if in a tournament it is worth going out there to give everything and die for it, then it is Paris.”

Rafael Nadal on preparing to play Roland Garros (“The French Open”) after his second round loss at Barcelona

When I read these words, I had that feeling you feel when you read someone who can write well. My head turned to the side, my left eye squinted, and I read it again. Shivers.

Even to someone who doesn’t know anything about tennis, or what this tournament means to this man, by reading these words, you can perhaps understand a little. Think of what you would give up for one last chance at something that has defined your life for many years, something that you have always been successful at and have been above and beyond the competition. You don’t have to be a professional sports player to get this analogy, you could apply any industry or undertaking. Anything in what you have invested your soul and your body which is now breaking down, counts.

I’ve never touched red clay. I’ve never felt it under my feet. I have seen green clay and tried to walk on it with regular sneakers. I almost fell. The surface is terribly slick. There’s a reason why they wear spiked sneakers. Playing tennis on the clay – it’s not simply tennis, it’s ballet and gymnastics, too. It’s a feat of elegant endurance. It’s magical.

Rafa is the King of Clay and will always be the King of Clay. Roland Garros will always be Rafa’s home.

My wish for Rafa is that he is able to walk out onto center court – Philippe Chatrier – to the sounds of cheers from tennis fans, and fight to the end, no matter the result. I can’t say it any better, any more eloquent, precise nor perfect than he.

©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved

Serendipity
fate · serendipity · Writing

Serendipity

Amy28 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
View all responses

There are two.

The first one was when my mom and I were going out to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant for some holiday, and as we were entering, an extremely good looking guy with either his mother or his grandmother were walking out at the same time. He was tall, had dark hair, looked like a model. He looked at me and I looked at him and he smiled. Well, I almost fell down. But I kept looking at him, and he kept looking at me. I was about 16, and I think he was a little bit older than that, but something was palpable. My mom started giggling and telling me, “That guy is really cute, and he’s looking at you, Ame!”

I think I started to blush, and I giggled as we continued to walk into the restaurant. I never forgot that encounter.

The second time was about 10 years ago. It was around Christmastime, and Mom and I were at a local department store that was packed due to the holiday. We were in the jewelry area, and out of this mass of people, I see a really cute guy with a younger girl, possibly his niece. It’s not abnormal for me to notice cute guys, because that’s my thing, but this was different. At the very same moment that I looked at him, he looked at me. The unfortunate part of this is that he was leaving and seemed to be in a rush with the gifts that he had in his arms. The strange part is that he turned around to keep looking at me as if he wanted to speak. I wanted to talk to him, although I didn’t know him at all. We maintained eye contact until neither of us could see each other – I was still in the store and he was in the parking lot. I really wanted to go catch up to them, but I couldn’t make my feet move. I wondered how idiotic would it sound to go up to some guy that I don’t know and say, “Hi, I feel like we’re having a serendipitous moment here, and even though you’re rushing to get wherever you need to go with your niece, we should chat.” I couldn’t do that, but I knew by not doing that that I would never see this person again, though I did check for him in the parking lot, even though I knew he was long gone. And for a while, I would check for him in that same department store every time I went. Anyway, I think I told my mom about it or she witnessed it. And she told me that similar things had happened to her over the course of her life. She believed when we would see people like that, they are angels put into our path for a particular reason. The reason is not always known.

I think the universe knows to send angels to me that look like cute guys.

Tornado and New Job
Writing

Tornado and New Job

Amy61 Comments

So I started a new job today, everyone. And that’s not the tornado that I’m referencing, although it is also a tornado. An actual tornado came through my neighborhood.

You might see less of me this week and in the coming weeks because of my new job. Never fear, I will return when I have more time. I appreciate everyone and I hope to be back to more active reading and posting very soon.

Oh, my neighborhood suffered some damage, but my house is OK. 🙏

Susie Is Sweet Sixteen
animals · cats · Humor · pets · Writing

Susie Is Sweet Sixteen

Amy26 Comments

It’s true. Today is her birthday and she’s 16. She already wants to go to the mall and hang out. And her boyfriend keeps coming around to the window at night. I know he does. I asked his mother. His name is Stinky, and he’s also a brown tabby. He’s blind in one eye, but that doesn’t stop him from crossing the street and trying to date my daughter.

Stinky, Susie’s boyfriend.

Susie has already started asking for the car keys now that she has a permit. I don’t want her to drive Victoria, because she doesn’t need to go back to the bodyshop. Susie can’t reach the pedals and she doesn’t have opposable thumbs to steer with. Then there’s the “novice driver” fluorescent green sticker that you have to put on your bumper when your teen starts to drive your car. Sigh.

The audacity

She’s already wearing cat eye eyeliner and excessive amounts of necklaces and bracelets. Seriously, I can’t get her to stop wearing them. And she’s always rubbing my phone, trying to take it. She thinks it’s hers. She thinks I don’t know that she’s had her eye on it.

She stays up all night and sleeps all day, and she’s just turning 16. Do you know how much worse it’s gonna get? I can’t even imagine.

I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t been present for her birth. She still plays and eats well, her teeth are in good shape because I’ve only ever given her dry food. She seems content, happy. Her kidneys are failing a bit as most cats‘ kidneys do, due to their very high protein diet, otherwise she’s the same Suze.

(In human years, Susie is 80 years old today.)

Happy birthday, Susie.

Edit: this post was scheduled, but this morning on Susie‘s actual birthday, I heard her beating on the windows downstairs in the basement right before dawn. There must’ve been another cat outside. Luckily she can’t get out and doesn’t go out, because she would be a neighborhood menace. She guards this house like she pays rent. It’s good to see her still scrappy, but not great when she sets off the house alarm and pulls down the curtains. 😼

Mama’s Girl
A toast to Susie!

©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved

Only Five? No Can Do.
daily prompt · Humor · Writing

Only Five? No Can Do.

Amy50 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?
View all responses

I’m definitely going over that limit.

Toothpaste

Clean water

Indoor plumbing

Shelter

Food

Drinking water

My cat

Kindness

Bumblebees

Flowers

Trees

Notebooks

Pens

OK, all stationery products – I have a bit of an obsession, all right?

Sleep

Music

My car, Koko (NOT the Audi Q3)

A hot cup of tea

Books

WRITING

Feeding squirrels and birds

Singing in my car (technically it’s performance art)

Brownies

Forehead kisses

Holding hands with the right person

The warmth of spring

Tennis

Finding cash on the ground

Making people laugh

All things Parisian

Pink skies

French fashion

Chocolate milk

Hummingbirds and their nests

My neighbor’s dog, Petey

Waking up to another day

Only One?
chick lit · daily prompt · favorite author · fiction · Humor · Jane Austen · Love · prose · Women’s literature · Writing · Zora Neale Hurston

Only One?

Amy26 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What book could you read over and over again?
View all responses

It isn’t possible for me to answer this question with just one book, so I’m going to list them all. There may be a few that I have forgotten, but these are the ones I have in my bookcase.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This is my favorite novel. Ever. It was required reading in American literature class, and I’m so pleased to have been introduced to this amazing wordsmith Ms. Hurston.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Any and all titles by Bill Bryson.

The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club by Jessica Morrison. This is a fantastic novel. I’m not sure if it’s still in print, and I don’t believe the author ever published another novel, which upsets me to this day.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles.

The General’s Mistress by Jo Graham.

The next three novels are a series by author Diana Norman. Sadly, she has passed away and there will be no more novels in the series. The first book is A Catch of Consequence, followed by Taking Liberties, and last but not least is The Sparks Fly Upward. This author also wrote under the pen name Ariana Franklin. I was today years old when I found that out, so I am excited and will try to get my hands on the novels she wrote under that name.

The next one is the first book in the “Undead” series by Mary Janice Davidson. I thought the first book was the best: “Undead and Unwed.”

Next up is author Katie McAllister (a pen name), with Men in Kilts and Improper English being my favorite titles from her.

Jane Austen – the whole catalogue.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Villette by Charlotte Brontë.

Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence.

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George.

Forever Amber, by Kathleen Winsor (this is a particular favorite of mine, though it is rather sordid, especially for the time period in which it was written.)

And the last one is Absalom! Absalom! by William Faulkner. Just kidding. I despise this book. I had to write a paper on it and I hated every second of it. I don’t particularly like Faulkner nor his writing style, and that’s being polite. Faulkner perfected the run-on sentence, and that’s being polite.

That’s my list. What are some novels that you can’t get enough of and read over and over again? Let me know in the comments!

Frailty
animals · Grief · Love · Nature · Writing

Frailty

Amy32 Comments

April 2, 2011

A young deer collided with my mom’s car this morning. We were driving back from the grocery store, trunk full of food, discussing something mundane about the week; something I can’t recall now. We saw one deer dart across the left lane of traffic and we gasped. My mom applied her brakes. We momentarily believed we had escaped what could have been a horrific situation, and then, just as suddenly, two more young deer darted from the brush.

My mom did what she could to slow down, but there was no way to avoid what was to come. The third deer ran head first into the driver’s side of the car. A loud thunk was felt and we pulled over. Already I was sobbing. I did not look back. I COULD NOT look back. My mom was shaking and sobbing. People began to pull over, maybe wondering if they could help us, maybe wondering if we were ok. Some did come up to the car and talk to us, making sure we were all right.

Physically, we were fine. The car was not damaged. Emotionally we were not fine. I am still not fine. That young deer didn’t die right away, it lingered for maybe 10 minutes before dying. Someone – I don’t know who – came and took the deer away. I don’t know if it was the County or a person who was planning on utilizing the meat. I don’t care. A deer died a traumatic death in the middle of the road because of a man-made vehicle that could not stop in time. The people inside that car do not agree with killing of animals for sport, and one of them (me) is adamant against such activities. So, to accidentally kill a deer – or any animal – is, for me, excruciating.

To unintentionally kill a beautiful animal that has every right to live is a horrible, horrible feeling. I took my mother’s hand and held it. And we cried. I cried not only for that young deer in the road, but for all the other deer who meet similar fates, and for others who are cruelly killed for sport.

Finally, the police arrived and said they do not file police reports for deer collisions, and since there was no damage to the car, my mom would not have to fix anything, so need to contact the insurance company.

Deer hair lingers on the driver’s side window, though, and I can’t bear to go over to that side to see the small dent I have been told is there now.

So that’s it. Nothing can be done. We just go on about our day? What about the two other deer? Where did they go? Do they wonder what happened to the young doe?

Are they waiting for her on the other side of the road, off in the distance?

Sorry, I just can’t finish this. I can’t stop crying.

Please, whatever you do today, hug your dogs, your cats, your ferrets, whatever pet you know and love. And hug your people, too. We are all fragile in this life.

©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved