I
have a process for new thoughts.
Well,
it’s sort of a process.
More
of a way of writing things down and hoping they make sense later.
And often, they don’t.
Yesterday
I was driving the car, and for whatever reason I didn’t have any
pens in the car. No paper either, but I could have faked that
part with a napkin. But, yeah, no pen. So… I cheated.
Yup.
Years of forgotten ideas—some most definitely great ideas—have
taught me to do what I can to make a note of some type if I can’t
get started on any kind of actual writing. In other words, if
I can’t sit down and actually start an essay, do whatever it takes
to jot down the concept along with a few notes to jog my memory
about where I was headed.
Yesterday,
that meant my cell phone. Quick text to myself.
“same thing only different”
That’s
what the text said.
Now,
I can actually remember myself in the car. I can close my eyes
and see the drive I was on. And I remember that it was a really,
really great idea. Unfortunately, today, this is what I’ve got:
“same
thing only different”
And
that’s just not enough.
Let’s
say I had been thinking about driving in snow. The main idea might
be something about how it gets slushy and feels like moving in
mashed potatoes. As I considered it further, I begin thinking
about how the coated roads make the car sound different. And,
off to the side of the road I see dirty snow piling up from the
cars that had been on the road before me. After a few more minutes,
ideas like rain falling and leaving a coating of ice on top of
the snow have been considered. My normal notes on a pad could
be:
“driving in snow mashed potatoes
dirty road side snow
muffled driving sounds
coating of ice”
But
this time, I’ve got nothing. Well, that’s not true. For on, I
now have a poem about driving in the snow. That’s pretty cool
and unexpected. Still, what I do have:
“same
thing only different”
Sitting
in front of the computer, not even eighteen hours later, I have
zero clue what actually is the same only different.
I
suppose it is a bit ironic. Forgetting an idea? Done that before.
Plenty of times. Fallen asleep, woken up with a thought and decided
not to get up to jot it someplace because there’s no way I’ll
forget it. Been in a car and figured writing it on a napkin or
interrupting the conversation in progress wasn’t necessary. Different
reasons, same result.
Was
it the laundry I’m washing? Maybe it was trash night and I was
wondering about bringing out cardboard recycling with winds in
the forecast. Not sure.
Can’t
get it back. Hope I do. Because I remember thinking you would
have enjoyed it.