Field notes 3

Doug Triplett Class notes:

17 July 2002

Dear Diary, I heard it said once you could get a person to believe anything, no matter how outrageous, as if it were Gospel if you just said that you heard it on Paul Harvey. I never really believed in urban legends such as this until last Friday. Imagine hearing about Bubba, moonshine and the butt-fax all on the same day. Wow, but as Paul would say, “Stay tuned for the rest of the story!” “Dear listeners, it began much as any other day at Writing Project would begin. People began to gather a little after 8 AM for food and fellowship and you guessed it; by 8:40 the group was already behind schedule. The delay was attributed to ill-mannered copy machines and computer printers but in the wilds of West Virginia truth often mixes with fiction. Listen now as we hear from a Mr. Doug Triplett who saw it all happen.” “Once everyone had got together on the front porch of the general store the usual scalawags began to share stories. Doug complained about his truck dieing and wondering how it would look attached to a couple of sticks of dynamite. Vicky read the latest edition of the local tabloid which is said to consistently outsell the National Enquirer. Amy talked about developing Intellectual Patience and we all wondered what it means. (I can see how having patience is good. I have a cousin whose intelligence is about that same as my pet rock.) “Beth started talking about seeing invisible birds and I started to if she had talked to Bubba already today. Toodie said she may make it a habit to be late (no one would notice. This is West Virginia after all). Betty Gail told us about what she was grateful for this morning and not a tear in sight. Jenette wondered how to get kids to be nice to each other and suggested shock therapy. (I figure this might work. I got a few shocks with a paddle in school as I passed thru – I only deserved one though!!!) “Tawnda want students to work together more as a community using lots of different tools. Marlene tells about her sister teaching in a one room school. I can remember my mom talking about teaching in a one room school, hard to imagine now. “Amy taught about revision. And rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. If only we could apply this to local government: lynch and elect, lynch and elect, lynch and elect, lynch and elect, lynch and elect, lynch and elect. “Finally Beth did her demo. Both Beth and Toodie mention voices in their heads and I wonder if people’s head-voices can have conversations with each other without us knowing. After putting ideas in boxes and writing about them the group came up with a very diverse bunch of characters: Vicky’s kids with their secrets, Marlene’s boy and girl who swipe things, Tawnda’s old lady who remembered coming to America, Amy’s boy who knows what happened to the homeless guy, Beth’s invented language, and of course Bubba’s Moonshine Popsicle and Butt Faxing Service. “The last thing everyone did before going home was to sign up for a demo to strut their stuff.” “And now you know… the rest of the story. Gooood Day!”