tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post8106458220391281285..comments2023-09-10T07:52:40.405-07:00Comments on Blues of a Waxwing: Gum and MadgeBlueshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014949557018388159noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-45588487725771484662009-11-17T13:59:27.955-08:002009-11-17T13:59:27.955-08:00May not be directly true, but it has truth in it, ...May not be directly true, but it has truth in it, and is much like the sad/crazy/funny material Anne Tyler works with. Good piece.Frank Lee MeiDerehttp://probablydontlikeyou.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-17337640955462548132009-11-08T17:01:20.141-08:002009-11-08T17:01:20.141-08:00god damn, kid. your writing's all growns up!
...god damn, kid. your writing's all growns up!<br /><br />catching up and loving your words. really. well done.<br /><br />off to read more. xoxo.karey m.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17431535677698029278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-59932624176604122302009-11-06T18:49:55.347-08:002009-11-06T18:49:55.347-08:00I enjoyed it. It was awful because it was real. ...I enjoyed it. It was awful because it was real. It is real, for so many people. Very nicely done.Not Afraid to Use Ithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11622378209801018927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-82745639630173863502009-10-29T18:45:03.671-07:002009-10-29T18:45:03.671-07:00That was brilliant! I was riveted from beginning ...That was brilliant! I was riveted from beginning to end. I hope you're writing a novel. You really should.Gwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11098013076632075762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-58501352385410784512009-10-27T02:34:35.920-07:002009-10-27T02:34:35.920-07:00top banana.
Adored it.top banana.<br /><br />Adored it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348590289173464647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-82771826956953733962009-10-24T12:42:04.463-07:002009-10-24T12:42:04.463-07:00You're gifted.
You are.
You even make me a ...You're gifted.<br /><br />You are. <br /><br />You even make me a bit jealous except that you are likeable, and because I like you the nascent envy withers.<br /><br />You engage and are honest.<br /><br />You rock!<br /><br />xxElliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09130776138284979286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-51257886877410656112009-10-11T13:08:15.195-07:002009-10-11T13:08:15.195-07:00Blues...these descriptions are so evocative. Have ...Blues...these descriptions are so evocative. Have you ever read The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen? I think he was channeling your Gum and Madge. I love this post. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-18224237435341519072009-10-08T09:30:14.328-07:002009-10-08T09:30:14.328-07:00@Yo Mamma - thanks, girl. I appreciate your words...@Yo Mamma - thanks, girl. I appreciate your words. <br /><br />@kate - I like this advice and will think about it in the future. Sometimes I feel the need to wrap things up when maybe it isn't necessary. I hope you do play around in a notebook...and let me see of course. <br /><br />@Pueblogirl - like I said, everything is true, it just didn't happen all at once. When I was home my Grandma really did ask me if I was from Spain. And about ten years ago I rode my bike by her house and she asked me how my kids were. The thing about bringing food over and my Grandma saying she was waiting for her granddaughters happened when I wasn't there. Unfortunately the bit about the ashes and the laundry room thing really did happen, but not while I was there. <br /><br />@Noble Savage- you're so fuckin' right! Actually, I sometimes tend to write how I think, which I guess doesn't speak much for my foul thinking. Thanks, though, and I agree. <br /><br />@Rassles - the whole time I wrote this I worried that I wasn't doing them justice. They've always been such generous people. But they disappeared when I was 12 to travel all over the damn place with the Latter Day Saint's and when they returned just seemed so cold. I remember going to see them once and I hadn't seen them in two years and my Grandma opened the door, didn't even give me a hug, and told me they were finishing watching a show and would be right with me. I've just always got the feeling that their way of loving was distant and bizarre. I always thought it had something to do with us not being Mormon. But yeah, Grandparents are a bitch. <br /><br />@ FF - I wish we could have tapas too!! Or tacos in Cali. Someday we will, I know it. Thank you so much for what you said. I'm so glad you could connect with what I was trying to portray. <br /><br />@ Chris - it is scary. With my Grandmother this happened ages ago. About 12 years ago was the first time I spoke directly to her and realized that she thought I was someone else. It was a horrible feeling. But at first it was kind of funny and we would laugh about her forgetfulness and stuff. And now you can see her confusion and it's painful to watch. <br /><br />@Lil - I'm glad I was able to suck you into the story! My grandparents are currently looking at assisted living stuff. My grandpa has invited hospice to come in and help him die. My aunt lives right across the street from them and is there regularly. They finally had a funeral service for good old Great Uncle Bob. My grandfather managed to take a trip down to the town they were born in and actually perform the funeral service in his weak condition. I can't believe what a trooper he is. <br /><br />@Unbearable - thanks for saying that. I kept rereading and thinking it was gonna be exhausting to read. <br /><br />@jen - i'm sorry.Blueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014949557018388159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-54468944906744362012009-10-08T08:05:04.805-07:002009-10-08T08:05:04.805-07:00fiction or real, this hits a little too close to h...fiction or real, this hits a little too close to home.jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00096399788929322183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-23613472428688260882009-10-07T19:36:42.781-07:002009-10-07T19:36:42.781-07:00You make it sound as if reading this was a chore. ...You make it sound as if reading this was a chore. I was kind of sorry to see it end.The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-86377862429630965562009-10-07T13:47:51.667-07:002009-10-07T13:47:51.667-07:00Well shit. Now I want to know what happened to yo...Well shit. Now I want to know what happened to your grandparents, if they're actually ok or are they still living alone, etc. This story made them so real and now I care about how they are. I worked in a nursing home for many, many years and your depiction of dementia is so spot on. Great job.Lilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14602338180461597574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-46844156020668983772009-10-06T17:27:39.023-07:002009-10-06T17:27:39.023-07:00To be honest it scared me. Scared me because it re...To be honest it scared me. Scared me because it reminded me of my experience as my Grandfathers were drifting away. Scared me because I see my Grandmother starting to slip and she's the kind of woman that would bake 20 dozen peanut butter cookies. And scared me a little bit because I'm scared of dementia.A Free Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01038930031019179647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-26828178001092713392009-10-05T14:06:08.406-07:002009-10-05T14:06:08.406-07:00At this moment, I wish I lived in Spain. I have t...At this moment, I wish I lived in Spain. I have this urge to gather up my loose sheets of paper and meet for coffee or tea or tapas, whatever the fuck people in Spain meet for. I have the urge to pore over your writing while you pore over mine and trade notes because I love your writing and I love your perspective. And telling someone about the way certain passages made them feel or where something felt forced or dialogue was perfect is so much easier in person.<br /><br />This brought up a lot of the same feelings I had going home to WI for my Grandpa's funeral. I hadn't seen my grandparents house in a long time b/c when I come to visit, they'd always come out and stay at my mom's house while I was there. You captured how everything looks smaller, and different, and dingy, dusty or less frightening than you remembered it. My grandparents even had the grandfather clock and dusty shelves of the pale, blue-toned Lladros.<br /><br />This was great, very evocative and wherever you melded, invented or took some artistic license I can't tell b/c it felt seemless. <br /><br />I love the description of your grandfather and what he has seen and done, the out this and out that all had a lyrical quality to it, a cadence of sorts. Loved it.formerly funhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04915882376165190052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-80612645888254873522009-10-05T11:19:38.818-07:002009-10-05T11:19:38.818-07:00Oh yeah. You are so good at this it hurts.Oh yeah. You are so good at this it hurts.Rassleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12370070146085209687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-76112265405925911832009-10-05T11:19:17.008-07:002009-10-05T11:19:17.008-07:00Grandparents are a bitch. The whole lot of them a...Grandparents are a bitch. The whole lot of them are a collective bitch. <br /><br />I wish I could appreciate the lives they led before they deteriorated. I do, a little, but I just have far too much anger towards my own, and their apathy.Rassleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12370070146085209687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-79366899780627493132009-10-05T07:08:53.396-07:002009-10-05T07:08:53.396-07:00It was very engaging and I wanted to read more whe...It was very engaging and I wanted to read more when it ended. I liked your descriptive sentences, though I think 'fuck' could be used slightly more sparingly (there were four in one paragraph) to give it real emphasis when used. Unless using 'fuck' a lot is just a character trait of the narrator, in which case have at it. I'm a big fan of the word myself but am aware of its overuse diluting its effectiveness.Noble Savagehttp://noblesavage.me.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-85973100030226577322009-10-05T03:37:47.970-07:002009-10-05T03:37:47.970-07:00Phew! I was just so glad to see the disclaimer at...Phew! I was just so glad to see the disclaimer at the end, so glad that this didn't actually happen to you exactly like that on your last trip back.<br />Which I guess is a way of saying that it worked, completely.Pueblo girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04904318623281033442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-60909294076987854502009-10-05T00:26:32.548-07:002009-10-05T00:26:32.548-07:00I love the dialogue-- perfect! And the characters ...I love the dialogue-- perfect! And the characters were intriguing as well. It's been a long time since I've done any critical feedback on anything, but I really liked this. The only criticism that I can think of off the bat is that there are a couple of places where you sort of give an commentary on something that is already clear-- like when you say "Things are always much better kept in memories" and also the part about "There were upset tones..." The description and choice of detail is so apt that you really don't need to explain as much.<br /><br />And man, I wish I could write like this! Maybe I will get out a notebook and do some playing around...katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16975826433125245969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5471917887376264974.post-1556529438350197922009-10-04T19:21:31.655-07:002009-10-04T19:21:31.655-07:00I read all of it because your writing is awesome. ...I read all of it because your writing is awesome. Each sentence makes me want to read more. I don't know squat about writing, but I do know what I like to read, and I like to read what you write because whatever it is you want your reader to feel or see, you accomplish with your words in a very easy and unforced way. (Does that make sense?) <br /><br />Regardless, bravo. :)LadyHAHAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05091191050470228928noreply@blogger.com