Writing Memoir
 
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Date Created:
August 27, 2008
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Hobbies »
Reading & Writing
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DintyWMoore AARP Member
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Writing Memoir

There is only one rule for writing memoir: You have to be honest. There are no templates, no blueprints, no other instructions. Unfortunately, this doesn't make it any easier. Here we will discuss with each other the difficult but exhilarating process of writing memoir—the worries we have, the obstacles we face, both real and imagined, and the pleasures of digging deep to find the story. There will be new assignments every month to jog memories loose, and to help banish self-consciousness, the scourge of all writers. I hope we will discover that the process of writing memoir is as valuable and important as the finished thing because of what we learn along the way. I hope we will share our concerns and our work with each other.

I will jump in and out of the discussions at least once a month. Given my limited availability online, I'm not always able to respond to personal messages. But I look forward to interacting with you all in this creative workshop of ours. Start writing.

  Post to Topic     Print   October Assignment: What I can't remember (boy that could cover a lot!)--by Betsy
http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/displayTopic.bt?groupId=10702&topicId=4844482
justbetsy said:
on October 15, 2009 04:10 PM ET

Momma and the Butcher Knife

I still don't know exactly what happened, but I have my suspicions--based on the pieces I do remember.

Apparently I tried to tell my first grade teacher about problems in my home situation. I don't remember doing that, but I do remember Dad sitting me down to lecture me about it. Dad said that Mom was washing dishes and he came up behind her and goosed her. He said she had the butcher knife in her hand at the time, and turned around and shook it at him. He said it was just a play fight. That made sense to me (especially since I didn't remember
the incident itself by that time--I didn't even remember telling the teacher).

All would have been well and I would have accepted Dad's explanation if Mom hadn't decided to also sit me down for a lecture. Mom said that I had told Miss Mavis that my mom was chasing my dad around the house with a butcher knife. Mom said that I had misunderstood and she wanted me to know what had really happened. She said that Dad was chasing a mouse and she was following him with the carving knife to cut off its tail (like in "Three Blind Mice"). I may have only been five years old, but I wasn't stupid. I knew that explanation was a made up story. I was insulted that she thought I was such a baby that I'd fall for a nursery rhyme. And that made me think that Dad's explanation was also a lie.

But it did make me realize that telling a teacher was no use. Since Mom was a teacher, other teachers would always accept her explanations over the words of a child, no matter how gifted.

c. 4/3/09, B. Riley (revised 10/15/09)
8 posts by 6 users
ibtal750
Post #8
ibtal750 said:
on November 7, 2009 11:02 AM ET

Very nice, clever and I just love the title. Take care. Thanks for posting.


DintyWMoore
Post #7
DintyWMoore said:
on October 23, 2009 11:11 AM ET

Oh yes, and I forgot to say, what a great title: Momma and the Butcher Knife


DintyWMoore
Post #6
DintyWMoore said:
on October 23, 2009 11:09 AM ET

Nicely told, efficient, funny, and surprising.  Well done, and thanks.


TequisQueen
Post #5
TequisQueen replied to justbetsy's Post #4 :
on October 15, 2009 05:21 PM ET

AlrightyThen!  That's a big one!  God Bless you and any brothers or sisters you may have had.  When my mother took out the butcher knife, I didn't have to ask what happened.  I saw my father run for the door and I never saw him again!  HA!  No question about that incident. 


justbetsy
Post #4
justbetsy replied to TequisQueen's Post #3 :
on October 15, 2009 05:16 PM ET

Nope, and I wish I had asked Dad about it when I was older. But there were several other similar situations--where I got differing "explanations" from the parents about what really happened. For the most part Dad was clueless about what was going on when he was not there. And we were too scared of Mom's retaliation to tell him. Even his death is a bit of a mystery. It was ruled a suicide, but he was shot in the back of the head with a hunting rifle. The sheriff ruled that he must have knelt down and held the gun behind him with his feet, then reached back for the trigger with his thumb--yeah, right.


TequisQueen
Post #3
TequisQueen said:
on October 15, 2009 05:03 PM ET

Well you were a sassy little 5 year old.  Good for You!

When you got older, did you ever address this with your parents again?


saravdw
Post #2
saravdw said:
on October 15, 2009 04:34 PM ET

Wow Betsy! Your writing is so good and so fast! It is amazing that although you said that you don't remember too much about this sad childhood experience is still in your mind.

Sara


snuzcook
Post #1
snuzcook said:
on October 15, 2009 04:18 PM ET
edited on October 15, 2009 04:20 PM ET

Even though this story has its roots in a tragic family situation, I couldn't help chuckling at how wise small children are, and how the adults who try to "fix things" really haven't got a clue! 

On a more serious note, it reminds me of the helplessness of a child in a wolrd of adults when some of those adults have things to hide.  Thanks for sharing.