Oh The People You'll Meet

Posted by Kate Flora

We've just come through graduation season, where thousands of young (and not so young--my own mother finished college when she was over fifty) people listen to the advice and exhortations of commencement speakers and then head out into the world, clutching mortar boards and copies of Dr. Seuss's book, Oh The Places You'll Go. Well, I have a little more advice for graduates, aspiring writers, and other citizens of the world: If you keep you eyes open and your ears attuned, you'll also meet a lot of fascinating people. And meeting these people, and hearing their stories, helps to connect us, and can make life grand.

For example, as a result of a casual discussion by some of my writing students several years ago, I learned about Craigslist. I was then trying to furnish a small Maine cottage on a shoestring, and it seemed like the perfect place to find those necessary bits of furniture. I'm still looking for bits--lamps, desks, small bedside tables, duvet covers and bookshelves. In the course of my driving around, I've met a lot of people and heard so many fascinating stories. I'm still wondering about the little girl in Belmont whose single mother was selling the furniture, loading their possessions into a Honda Pilot, and driving back to California so her family could help her sort out the child's mysterious illness. I got an Ektorp chair and a hassock, she got a fistfull of dollars and a book for her daughter. And after she dropped off the furniture and drove away, she left me admiring her courage and wondering if everything would be okay.

Among my favorite Craigslist encounters was the young doctor who had a whole shelf of thrillers in her living room (we writers love it when someone reads what we write!). I bought a lovely mirror from her. It was still on the wall, and she quickly whipped out a tool kit in a pink case, pulled out a battery-driven screwdriver and detached the mirror. Then she smiled at the pink case. "My father gave it to me," she said. Inspired by her, the following Christmas I bought each of my nieces their own tool kit instead of clothes or jewelry.

Last week, my search for the "right" chair for my son's room led me back to Craigslist, and to an ad for an antique Eastlake reclining chair. (Until recently, the room was maintained as a "shrine" to the lad, complete with Natural Born Killers and signed Marilyn Manson posters. I've finally given myself permission to redo it.) I answered the ad, and was directed to the nearby town of Winchester, Massachusetts. On a whim, since the poster of the chair had used the moniker, "The Painted Porch," I googled that name, and ended up on a facebook page that told me a great deal about the person I was going to meet. (Sometimes, I think we can all agree, the folks selling stuff can be a bit dubious.) Barbara Leslie, who loves to restore and paint old furniture to resell, turned out to be an absolutely delightful force of nature. At eleven in the morning, I got to meet her, her parents, and her house guest, all in their pyjamas. I immediately fell in love with the chair, and she scooped it up and popped it into the back of my car (it's almost as big as I am) like it was a feather. And it was then I learned that living with her husband, as well as shifting large pieces of furniture around, had made her strong.

Her husband, she said, was a professional wrestler. What name did he use, I asked. "Oh, Brutus The Barber Beefcake," she said. So I had to come home and google that. And what a delightful fellow he seems. Here's his photo...but don't go by this. Go yourself and look him up on line. Amazing story. Sadly, he wasn't home, so I didn't get to become the newest Beefcake fan.

But just to show how much value there is in occasionally leaving home and going out among other people, last week I also taught the first session of my six-week class for beginning writers, Six Easy Pieces, a series of lectures and exercises practicing some useful pieces of the writer's craft. And, as it turned out, one of my students runs a series of basketball camps for grown-ups, called Never Too Late Basketball. And here's the REAL inside scoop: S.J. Rozan takes his classes and has named a detective after him.(Who needs six degrees of separation. I've felt close to S.J. since our first books were reviewed together in the Washington Post. And I never wanted China Trade to end.)

So if your creative juices aren't flowing, or you need a new chair, or you just love the thrill of adventure and the inspiration that comes from hearing new stories, leave home, go in search of something--a plant, a chair, an obscure grocery item--and take the time to talk to people. See who you meet and what they tell you. And then, come back here and share it with me.

Comments

[Sheila Connolly]

I think one point we need to get across to those young people is, don't be shy! Talk to people! I know some of us (yes, me) are self-conscious and inhibited about launching into conversations with strangers, but think of all the wonderful things you can learn. And, hey, you may want to use them in a book someday.

[Kate Flora]

Absolutely. My kids think I'm weird 'cuz I talk to people. I guess I thought my mom was a bit odd for doing it. And my mother-in-law can befriend the non-English-speaking pedicurist and leave the salon in a flurry of hugs. I have to remind myself to get out and about, but then it can be such an adventure.

[Edith]

A good friend of mine (big, jovial guy) talked to EVERYBODY. He knew everybody's name and the name of their kids, from the CEO of the company to the cook in the cafeteria. Sadly, he died right after he retired a year and a half ago, or I'd be up there in Vermont now visiting and getting stories from him. It's not as easy for me to chat people up, but I try, partly in his memory.