What book do I want to write? has been an outstanding question for me for a long time. I don’t have it in me to write a novel. My genres of choice have been articles, marketing materials, newsletters, speeches, and mentor texts for my classes.
Today, though, I was all of a twitter when a conversation with colleagues turned to sharing adages our moms used to say. My favorites were: “buy cheap, pay twice”; “always buy good shoes and good bras”; champagne taste, beer money.”
My mind then went to a summer evening when the kids were young and we were visiting their grandmother in Mississippi. The full moon was shining brightly as we drove sated from the Catfish House back home to my husband’s hometown, Pontotoc. She came out with my all time favorite colloquial saying: “Well, as my sister Leland would say, ‘that makes my ass grab paper!’” Then popped into mind my secretary years ago making my eyes tear with: “He was quieter than a mouse pissing on cotton.”
I daydreamed about driving around the country picking up regional diddies to put into a book that captures the rich diversity and hometown wit and wisdom of our country. But why stop there? Why not travel abroad? France! Then onto Italy…a Bourdain of quips!
That mental trip was a lot of fun. For now, I’ll continue to grow my collection. If the needle of the passion meter ever makes it into the red, I might just answer that question.