Logic by Bonnie Le Hamilton

“We are resolved to be logical.”

Who do you think of when you hear that line? Spock? Well it isn’t a quote from Star Trek, it’s a quote from Caligula. “Logic” is a word Spock used a lot, but not that exact quote. How do I know this? Simple. I read about it in a book titled, “I Am Not Spock” by none other than Leonard Nimoy. At one point I had that section of his book memorized which included that line, for a dramatic reading, let alone that I have three seasons of the original series of Star Trek on DVD, so I do know what I’m talking about.

And why am I bringing that up now? Because of Konnie’s post last week about being logical. You see it felt weird to have the twin who has always gotten the jokes, and laughed a lot at not only my inability to get the jokes but at me whenever I tried to explain why a joke didn’t make sense – why it wasn’t logical.

Yeah, you got it, I’m the logical twin. Always have been. Getting me to laugh is like pulling teeth to the point that I have one friend who would crow for weeks every time he managed to get me to laugh just once. I generally don’t get jokes, but I’m also the first one to say they go right over my head.

Actually, I was once heard to say, “They go right over my head and land on Konnie.” You see, I’m just a wee bit taller than her. 😊

But as for the riddle Konnie mentioned last week, well I heard that one years ago, and from the first time I heard it, I knew the best action would be to let his friend take the old lady to the hospital in his car while he sat and chatted with the girl. I know that’s the logical action, but I never considered that to be “thinking outside the box”. Or that such thinking was logical.  

Growing up, thinking outside the box made you eccentric and even idiotic, but certainly not logical. Thinking outside the box is what “strange ducks” did. As a teen the eccentric characters were the “Flower Children” advanced to middle age, but not grown up.

And when did eccentric become logical?

Not that I’m saying Konnie is wrong. I personally see writing as thinking “outside” the box, as well as being logical. It has to be, because while we write fiction, we also have to make it believable, or in other words logical.

If B is going to happen in the story, then there has to be a logical reason for A to respond that way, or it won’t be believable. Everything we do as writers hinges on logic, even if what we are writing only exists outside the bounds of reality.

I consider contemplating “What if” to be a logical thing to do, even if its outside the box. I actually once read of a truck driver who did some “What if” thinking and come up with plans he’d execute if a certain scenario happened.

One of the events he contemplated was an earthquake while he was driving over a bridge or overpass, sending him sailing over the edge, and what he would do if it happened. Well, it did happen and he didn’t need to think, just react in the manner he’d always told himself he’d respond, and it saved his life.

Thinking outside the box is logical and even smart. Right now, I’m not sure why it was ever considered otherwise.

Happy writing everyone!

Out of the Box Thinking by Konnie Enos

I once saw a post on Facebook about a man interviewing another man for a job. He posed a question for the prospective employee and based on his answer he’d know what kind of man he was.

The question went something like this: It’s a stormy day and you are driving along and see three people waiting in the rain for a bus. One is an old lady is who clearly very ill. One is an old friend of yours who once saved your life and the last one is the person of your dreams. Your car is only a two-seater. Who do you offer a ride to?

Of course the employer expected the young man to say one of three things.

You could offer the ride to the person of your dreams giving you the opportunity to talk, though this choice leaves a poor impression. It’s selfish.

You could give the ride to your old friend. Paying back an old friend at the expense of a sick old lady? Again, this wouldn’t give a good impression, and that’s not even counting missing out on talking to the person of your dreams.

The most logical is to give the sick old lady a ride. This gives the best impression. You’re being altruistic. One could assume your old friend would understand. Maybe he’d put in a good word for you.

I posed this question to my two daughters (at home) and my oldest son.

My son was all for giving his friend the ride. He even gave same sound reasons for this. I really wasn’t surprised considering how close he is to his best friend.

Both daughters were all for giving the old lady the ride. Again they had sound reasons for their answer and honestly I wasn’t all that surprised. After all both girls have health issues and have had to deal with some less than altruistic attitudes.

I had paused the video to ask them so after getting their answers I went back to Facebook to see if it said what the young man’s answer was or it defined what each possible answer said about you. I was understandably curious, mostly because I had come up with a different answer than my children had.

The rest of the video only went on to say that the young man surprised his potential employer with his answer.

Why? Because, he’d apparently come up with the same answer I did.

He thought outside the box.

He gave his car keys to his altruistic friend so he could drive the sick old lady to the hospital while he stayed behind to talk to the person of his dreams.

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why that wasn’t the logical answer.

There were two seats in the car. The fastest easiest way to help the most people was to give his keys to his altruistic friend. Even if the third person hadn’t been the person of his dreams, it was still the most logical answer. It helped the greatest number of people, and he knew and could trust his friend to do the right thing.

So apparently, thinking things through logically can help you think outside the box.

Or maybe I pulled that off because I know how to solve the riddle of getting the bag of grain, the chicken, and the fox across the river in one small boat that will only hold you and two others, not all three. But you can’t leave the chicken alone with the grain or the fox alone with the chicken.

Considering how often people are now talking about “thinking outside the box” I’m now wondering if the real issue is too few people are actually using their heads and thinking things through logically.

I do realize that some solutions to problems mean coming at them from an unconventional angle, but I don’t see how that can’t be a logical tangent.

I’ve heard of at least two different people who have utilized what is relatively new 3D printing technology in an effort to help a loved one and ended up creating a new company. One that is using those 3D printers to make personalized products. One company makes prosthetics (I saw hands, but they may also do legs) and another makes leg braces. Both do their work to help children.

Two different men, with a bit of knowledge in an unrelated field, had a similar problem and came to an unconventional, yet logical conclusion. The result was they were able to solve their problem and help other people with the same issue.

Solving a problem sure help Alexander Graham Bell. Look were it got us today.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Wishes VS Reality by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Do you remember making wishing on the first star of the night? I do. I also remember watching The Jetsons and wishing Rosy really existed; actually, I still do. She could do the dishes, laundry, and vacuuming while I write or do crafts.

There just isn’t enough time in a day to do everything, ever, that is truer now that I have a car again. 

The thing is I can remember back before the accident when I wished I didn’t have such a full plate and could stay home for days on end. Back then a whole week without having to go anywhere beyond church on Sunday sounded like a good thing, until I got it. Now I’m back to wishing I could stay home but I have places to go and things to do.

As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Or maybe its something like the grass is always greener on the other side. None of us know how good we’ve got it until we don’t have it anymore. 

There are advantages, and disadvantages to having a car. Would I trade that freedom for being able to stay home every day? I don’t think so.

It’s a pain to have try and find rides to do simple things like run to the store. And its annoying when you can’t help your loved ones because you have no way to get to them, but I still wish I had a “Rosy” to do the chores.

Then again, if I had a robotic maid, I’d probably end up having to do regular maintenance on her. There are always drawbacks and no one can know what those drawbacks are until they actually have to deal with them.

The same goes with having a pet. I sometimes miss the companionship of a cat. I love cats, I hate cleaning litter boxes. Which is why I don’t have a cat. Too much work, I’d rather not. But that’s a drawback I do know. I’ve had cats in the past. I honestly should have realized the ramifications of not having a car before I wished for that, because, after all, I’ve been car-less before.

I was without transportation from the time I left home for college until I got married three years later let alone the years where I couldn’t drive. I honestly should have considered the ramifications. I missed out on a few things I wanted to do simply because I had no way to get there, but I did have more time to write. What’s more important? Freedom to go places or freedom to stay home and write?

As a writer, it should be freedom to stay home, but if that is your life day in and day out, it gets old fast. Even writer’s need interaction with other people once in a while. Just not every day of the week.

And its not like the weather is cooperating.

At one point this last few weeks, I was glad I had such a big (high off the ground) vehicle, because the amount of snow that used mean I couldn’t get out of my driveway, doesn’t even faze this thing. It’ll drive right over it. Problem is, that makes the driveway hard packed, and slippery.

Yeah, I slipped on my driveway the other day.

I also have to deal with clearing the snow off my car, which isn’t easy considering I’m so short, and it’s so big. Another thing I honestly should have considered before I bought it. I had to go out and find a window scraper with a long telescoping handle, because I simply couldn’t reach enough of the windshield without it.

You would think a writer would be able to do bit of “What if” thinking and figure out these things before they got in too deep.

But do any of us ever see all the possible scenarios to what we’re wishing for? I’d say, I don’t think so, but I know for a fact there are a lot of stories which started with, “What if”.

It’s done all the time, and I’m told several of the better thriller or sci-fi movies were started this way, and I’ve heard a few comedies started with the premise, what can go wrong will go wrong. Life is like that − our stories should be too.

Life isn’t always sunshine and roses, and our stories would be boring if we wrote them that way. Mistakes happen, things don’t always go as planned, and the grass isn’t really greener on the other side of the fence.

Those of us on the outside looking in, can’t possibly see what’s really going on. That immaculate lawn may be hiding a man who beats his wife for spilling a little milk.

Happy writing everyone.

Age is in the Eye of the Beholder by Konnie Enos

On Facebook there have been these posts going around for at least a couple of years now saying “Never have I ever” then lists several things you’re supposed to count whether or not you’ve done them. The lists could be things like gone a cruise, played golf or ridden in limo. Some people wondered if miniature golf counted as playing golf. I personally had to scan my memory to see if I’d ever built a fire or ridden in a limo.

But one of the past ones which got me thinking was “lied about my age”.

You’re not supposed to ask a woman, especially a ‘mature’ woman, her age, and I’m old enough now to be considered senior woman. Though I’m generally fairly frank about my age and I always have been. But while I was thinking I’ve never lied about my age I remembered one incidence.

I had to have been twelve, thirteen at the oldest. Bonnie and I and our older sister went to the theater together. I wasn’t really paying attention as our sister paid for our tickets but I found out later we had more money than expected for treats. Why?

I think my sister realized it at the time she paid though didn’t correct the ticket seller. We were charged for two adult tickets and one child ticket.

I was utterly confused. Bonnie and I are identical, and our sister was taller than us, clearly older.

But then my sisters pointed out a few things about how I appeared compared to them.

Both my sisters were wearing at least some makeup, while I wasn't. Not tons, but enough to know it was there. It was also clear both girls weren’t flat chested. And though our older sister was the only one over five foot tall (not by much), Bonnie was close enough and her heels put her over.

I’m the shortest of the three of us and was wearing tennis shoes. Plus, since it was a slightly cool day I was wearing my sweater, which was a poncho style. (This was the 70’s so it was popular back then.) This effectively hid the fact I was as well-endowed as Bonnie. 

However I think the one thing that really made them think I was a younger girl was my hairstyle.

Both my sisters kept their hair fairly short and by then our older sister may have had hers permed in an afro (popular back then). Bonnie’s would have been bobbed about shoulder length.

I kept my hair long. And since I’d had no one to show me how to put it up, I generally could only do ponytails, pigtails and maybe simple braids. I’m fairly certain my waist length hair was in pigtails that day.

Not that it was the only time someone has assumed I was younger than I am.

One time I was talking to a lady I knew at church and mentioned that most people I knew at church who had kids around the same ages as mine were ten years younger than I was. She pointed out that she was the same age as another lady we went to church with who did have kids around the same ages as mine, stating their age. Which, coincidentally was ten years younger than I was.

I simply said, “Told you.”

Her jaw about hit the floor.

Which is why I have never felt the need to lie about my age, people are usually off anyway.

On the flip side I have had occasions when people have assumed I was the grandparent of my youngest son and youngest daughter.

Admittedly I do have a smattering of gray hair now, most of it on the underside of my hair. However, I generally keep my still long hair bound up in a ponytail so what gray I do have is visible. Also admittedly, all three of my youngest children have told me they have classmates/friends whose grandparents are my age.

I can see it since my own father was in his mid to late thirties when he had his first grandchild and that’s about how old I was when I had my three youngest. In fact, my husband’s great-niece is actually older than our youngest daughter by several months. Meaning his youngest sister was a grandparent before our third child was born.

Of course that just reminds of when my sister-in-law called to tell me her first grandchild had been born. She asked me how it felt to be a great aunt finally.

I cracked up. I have several of great nieces and nephews now. Though all on my husband’s side. So far only the one on my side however.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.