Genesis

In the beginning there was a blank piece of paper and the void was stark white and man said, "Let there be words.". I could go back to the beginning of my life to start this tale but that isn't really where the writing began.

English 1A was where I first realized, or thought, that I could possibly be capable of stringing together letters and words into a format that would at the very least express my thoughts and feelings on paper and perhaps, with enough work, practice and determination, create some paragraphs and some chapters and perhaps a book that people would actually want to read.

The first night of class we were given two assignments. Both of them timed and both of them to be completed in class and read aloud to our classmates. What, what - WHAT?

As I looked down at the first sheet and read the instructions I wondered, "How the hell can I possibly do this?". The instructions were:

Write a brief paragraph without using any forms of the verb "to be".

I have already done that seven times in the explanation leading up to "What, what - WHAT"?

I stare at the page again and begin:

The road winds up the mountainside, past ranch houses and horse corrals. At a bend roughly three miles up you'llsee a rock with an X spray painted in white. You park your car and begin the short hike over sandstone rocks and past manzanita bushes to a spot the Chumash used as shelter.Lizards Mouth,a sandstone formation overlooking the Goleta Valley. From here your view includes the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, U.C.S.B., Gaviota and both the harbor and airport of Santa Barbara. In the summer the rocks keep you worm as they radiate back the heat they've collected during the day. In the winter you can seek ref get out of In summer the warm breezes blow across the rocks keeping you comfortably and the caves pleasantly warm. The smell of wild sage and mustard fill the night air. Nighttime is the best time at Lizard's Mouth, especially when the moon is full moon lights up the rocks. Combined with the view you can't help but think about the vastness of this world. (TIMES UP!)

There you have it, warts and all. Not the first thing I ever wrote. There had been plenty of assignments from book reports to a report on Managua, Nicaragua (still can't say that without hearing Cornholio's voice). But this was different this was the first time I could feel myself enjoy the creative process and I wanted to do more and more there would be during the remaining semester.

Papers were handed up and then read to the class. I had a few slip ups in my usage, highlighted in red above. But I also caught myself and crossed out what I didn't like.

After reading the papers of those who wished to be heard we were given our next assignment. We had a set time in which to write a short descriptive paper using the word room.

My brain spewed forth the following.

As I roamed around the room with my broom, I was impressed by the roominess contained in the room. For what exactly is a room? Four walls, a roof and floor? Isn't it more? You carpet a room. Rent a room. Redecorate a room. Paint a room. "Go to your room!". Clean your room. Is there any room in the Inn? This room is full of hot air. That room is as cold as ice. Please turn off the lights if you are the last one to leave the room. Room 222. This room is to be occupied by no more than 75 people and I just swept up after all of them.

Jimmy Stewart sat in his room and witness a murder in Hitchcock's The Rear Window.

Twelve men spent agonizingly long hours in a room deliberating a murder trial in Twelve Angry Men.

People sit in a room called a theatre to watch movies. The movie room. Why is a kitchen not called a cooking room? And the garage can be the car room. We already have the bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room and family room.

If a bathroom doesn't have a bath in it why isn't it called a shower room or toilet room? And how many of us really go in there to rest? (except of course when we are at work)

Finally the closet can now be known as the broom room.

Well there you have it. Not exactly Hemingway or Steinbeck. But not Bard.