No Squeak Zone

If you live upstairs from another human being and are going to do anything in your apartment, anything at all – even just situps or moving around while you talk on the phone – do it on a part of the floor that does not squeak. I'm just saying...

Listening

 Two friends have called me an angel. And neither one said it in a “aren’t you sweet” kind of way. They each said it was like an angel had come into their lives to help them. I didn’t think I deserved that at all. I just listened to their problems and encouraged them. I didn’t even solve their problems.

God listens. And if you pay attention, he answers too. 

The Effect of a Story

In Finding Nemo Marlin was reluctant to tell his story to the sea turtles, but when he did, two things happened. One, as the story spread through the ocean, it reached Nemo, gave him hope, and encouraged him to try again to escape. Two, it caused Nigel the pelican to recognize Marlin and save him when another pelican tried to eat Marlin and Dory on the dock.

In A Little Princess, when Sara offered to share her fanciful stories with Becky, the much-abused scullery maid, she got this response: “Then,” breathed Becky, devoutly, “I wouldn’t mind how heavy the coal boxes was – or what the cook done to me, if - if I might have that to think of.”

A good story can help us bear our burdens. It can give us hope, endurance, and the spark we need to try again after we think we have nothing left inside. It can touch the lives of people we never meet.

Your Girlfriend is a Steak Sandwich

Sure, Edward said a million times it was really hard being near Bella without killing her. But I didn't really get it till I walked past a restaurant and the smell of grilling steak wafted over me. Imagine dating a thick, juicy steak with mushroom sauce that just happened to be able to walk and talk and attend high school. That guy was a masochist all right. See work-in-progress Midnight Sun at http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ for "Twilight" from Edward's point of view.

Travel Photos

 

I've always liked this photo. I was in Ireland and these cows were just roaming along the road, posing for tourists. I like the Celtic cross in the background too. I was in Connemara, either the town of Clifton or Galway.

This is on the same trip, just a peaceful roadway. Some parts of Ireland looked just like American countryside, except for the stone walls crisscrossing the fields.

  

And here is the little girl in Nepal with two of her friends. She was disappointed that she couldn't see the photo immediately. I don't know how common digital cameras were in 2000, so maybe she had encountered polaroid cameras before. Another mental note for traveling - the ability to immediately share photos is appreciated, if not always possible.