There are many, many, many outlets to express ourselves these days.
Whether we are cupcake dancers, serious prose producers, or, pill induced happy people trying to whack out a best seller before it's time to drive the minivan back to the elementary school-
If we are so inclined, there is a way and a place to give others insight to our thoughts, ideas, dismay and alas! our dirty laundry- instantaneously.
And it's done ever so spontaneously!
No more scribbles in a notebook, shoved aside, waiting to be found after our demise...
It is freedom of expression, and Spontaneous me's (Whitman)
However innocent Whitman was, the ever insightful Strunk and White put it all into perspective:
"The volumn of writing is enormous, these days, and much of it has a sort of windiness about it, almost as though the author were in a state of euphoria"
(Ah- all the money spent on research for the latest and greatest happy pill has not gone to waste!)
Whitman sang "Spontaneous me" and became famous.
Popping a pill and mistaking "my big adventure on the way to school" for prose is another- uh- story?
Who's to blame?
Strunk and White blame poor Whitman as the cause of all this chaos.
They further point the finger by saying: "...in his innocence, let loose the hordes of uninspired scribblers who would one day confuse spontaneity with genius"
Now, now, there is nothing wrong with being a sucker for a short, snappy and witty story.
I am one. ( a sucker- not a pill popping proser)
And twitter, facebook, & myspace will know when you can't get out of the bookstore without seeing dozens of those kind of books scattered throughout the store- so, why not buy one for $3.99?
I think (but havn't checked) if even kid's books are pushing the happy-go-lucky bee-bopping bunny skipping down the bunny trail singing a re-make of the Partridge family's "C'mon get happy" all the while trying to teach children a life lesson.
I hope it is something good they will remember forever.
Yep- plenty of ways for self-expression.
But, how about the good ol days?
Remember when you were a teen and your neighbor (the cute one you had the biggest crush on) came up and made your night by singing to you outside of your window...
or, when you got a note (written on a piece of paper) from a friend who told you how much she appreciated you letting her cry on your shoulder- and you still have the note and the snot stained shirt.
or, this morning when you tried to write "I love you" on your ten year old's turkey sandwich with the mustard...
So- what about just singing to yourself when something great has happened- instead of running to the computer or cell phone to pound out "I am sooo happy because the mole on my husband/partner/boyfriend/girlfriend/wife's butt has finally gone away!"
This for all the world to see?
Oh please I beg, just say it with the mustard!
