Marian Scadden, Author

IN THE UNDERBELLY

Aug 24, 2024

I was in the underbelly of a grand library, thanks to a friend who mentioned she worked there. When I was near the library, I stopped by to say hi and discovered she's in the SPECIAL collections, down in the belly, way down in the depths, inside the center of the earth, practically. It was on the 1st floor, underground; it should be called Level -1. It was so cool. She took me on a mini-tour. The towering bookshelves were on high-strength wheels. The shelves could be moved by one person rotating the cranks that looked like the helm of a pirate ship. The vast room looked to be the length of a football field, but I wasn't going to measure it. Now THAT'S a library. It's not such a special collection that no one dares to go in. If one found a book in the catalogue that happened to be on Floor 1, a librarian would retrieve the book and brave the stairs or the elevator to bring the book to the patron. There were laser-disc movies, movies on vhs & dvd, beautifully illustrated children's pop-up books, even a tiny Hamlet script that fit in the palm of a hand. "Maybe," said my friend, "it was for the actor who hadn't memorized his lines." Probably. As an author and a actor, I just wanted to stay there, live there. Except...it's the kind of setting that would be perfect for a mystery or a horror movie. Loved it!

TORTOISES, DUCKLINGS, CINDERELLAS, NURSERY RHYMES

July 9, 2024

Do you know the story of the Tortoise and The Hare? the Ugly Duckling? Cinderella and it's many versions from other countries? How many nursery rhymes do you remember?

My guess is that if you're reading this, you're a reader. You probably know the stories mentioned above.

I've been in children's theater for decades. I often use simple stories and rhymes for the kids to use in theater activities. Many times they don't know the stories.

Tell them stories.
Albert Einstein said,  "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

SAVE YOURSELF!

Is this an emergency?! Well, no.

But here's the deal: Screens are adicting. You probably know that. And you probably use them on a regular basis anyway. You think to yourself, I have to watch something just to relax. It's been such a chaotic/intense/depressing day. Or maybe you don't; maybe it's just me. But what a relief when I put the screens away and read a physical book or take a walk or work in the garden or something, ANYTHING but screens.

If you're an entrepreneur, you might be marketing via social media or building your own website (yup). If you're a writer, perhaps you type your books and critique other writers' books on your laptop. If you're a crafter or artist, maybe you are getting ready to create vids and maybe you're looking for new techniques that others have recorded.

This week I have taxes to start (I'm proud of you if you're already done) so I'll be spending more time on my laptop. YUCK. 

The other day, I saved myself because my cell phone and tablet were low on battery power. I had to plug them in and then I walked away. Get out and about. Do not use your downtime as screen time. "Downtime" and "Screen time" are opposites. So now and then SAVE YOURSELF. DO something. (This message is for me. You are welcome to learn from it.)

FOUR-LETTER WORDS

I've heard "four-letter words." Eek! Gadzooks! Oh, no!

But here's the deal: I'm trying to train myself to be more positive including using words that are positive. "Aren't there good 4-letter words?" I whined one day. It didn't take but a minute to come up with positive 4-letter words:

  • Love
  • Hope
  • Joie (so this is French for Joy but I wanted Joy to be on my list.)
  • Safe
  • Save
  • Fish (I especially like salmon)
  • Free
  • Gift
  • Avid (I like the term "avid reader" but one can be enthusiatic about all sorts of things such as an "avid skier")
  • Cool (I use this a lot, especially when someone tells me of something that I think is "cool.")

 

FYI: After about the third word (oh, there's a 4-letter), I was thinking that it might take me too long to figure out some good 4-letter words so I thought, "why not google it? I wonder..." Sure enough there are some sites for positive 4-letters. One site said it this way: "Positive & Impactful 4-Letter Words." Love it!