|
Week Two
Lesson Three Syllabus
For this lesson, it says I’m going
to assemble info and let it ‘simmer’. Sounds like a smart aleck’s
idea of making soup. The thing is, there are so many things that have happened in my life that it will be difficult to decide
just what to use.
Perhaps how and when I stopped believing
in Santa Claus? How it felt to be ‘above’ everyone else in my grades? How I decided on Marine Biology? What made
me join the Navy? What made me make my career take priority over my personal life? What made me betray Lee’s friendship?
On more than one occasion? The last words I ever had with him? Oh God, this is going to be a nightmare. But looking at Lesson
Four’s Syllabus, at least that can wait for the next class. If I decide
to say anything about Lee, that is.
Class Notes
Lesson
3 Notes:
Telling
Lies is OK.
Well, I’ll agree as the lesson went
on to say that it can pay to ‘fictionalize’ your facts, incidents, etc. to cover your own you know what. (My words-
the instructor’s was a bit more polite)
I is
boring.
Yes, that’s what is says. Writing ‘I
see, I saw, I did’ too much can be boring.
(It’s called writing in the ‘first person’) But if you overdo with
the opposite ‘he said, she said’ , etc. (writing in the 3rd person) you might lose any intimate feelings or emotions you want to get across.
Guess
I’m damned if I do, (uh oh, I used the ‘I’ word) damned if I don’t.
Use
the ‘Bubble Method’ aka ‘Mind Mapping’ of brainstorming.
Looks like an exercise one does in kindergarten.
I’m to draw a circle, label it ‘My Life’ then make 10 spokes with smaller bubbles on them, and write in
various aspects of my life. And I’m supposed to do it in crayon!
See below.
I didn't do it in crayon, so there.
Homework:
Now I'm supposed to think about these life story questions:
What opportunities have I missed?
I should have invested in the first personal computers. But I thought they were jsut a passing fad.
What turning points have altered my life's course?
I’d have to say here, that without realizing it, I was fast headed to a rather isolated and lonely
life, but in my own defense, I’d simply been too busy with my scientific
career to notice. After all, since childhood I’d always been happiest with
my microscope.
It took Lee Crane, newly drafted (or should I say ‘purloined’ ) to Seaview, to coerce me (it
was very hard to turn him down) to do something during my free time other than anything work and/or science related.
You might remember from the newspapers about a Halibut eating my wallet? Suffice it to say, a simple pleasure
cruise with Lee turned into a fight for our lives. Suffice it to say, we survived,
an irate father was pacified, drug runners were arrested, and I even got my wallet back- eventually, but that’s another story*.
Little did I know when the Navy grudgingly allowed their prize
sub commander to take command of Seaview permanently, that even my weekends would
become adventures. My life would never
to be the same again.
Who has most influenced me, for better or
for worse?
Through Lee Crane’s influence, I learned that
people really are more important than amoebas.
What dreams did I have as a child? As a teenager?
As an adult?
I wanted to go to the North Pole and offer my services to Santa Claus in exchange for a more
advanced chemistry set than the kind my mother let me have. I can’t count
how many letters I wrote to the Big Guy. I stopped believing when instead of that chemistry set under the tree, I got a sled.
It was a nice sled. And I enjoyed sledding when Boston was carpeted in snow. But that’s not what I had asked for. Phooey.
As a teenager, when I saw how polluted the water was in Boston Harbor, I wanted to clean it up, and began what became
my lifelong ambition to protect our seas from mankind’s pollution.
As for now, well, I still have dreams. Cleaner oceans, bringing back various species from near extinction,
and to understand the part of our earth that has yet to be fully explored.
What traditions affect me today?
I still appreciate the naval traditions such as that as when crossing the equator. ‘Pollywogs’
are usually tarred and feathered and made fools of , all to be welcomed into
King Neptune’s kingdom. The ceremonies are usually a great morale booster and a good time is had by all.
Where might I be if my life had been different?
I have no idea, as I don’t know how it would have been different, except perhaps I might never have
gotten interested in the sea, joined the Navy and used some of family fortune to build NIMR and Seaview. Perhaps I would have
ended up as tax collector instead.
What would I change about myself now if I could?
o
I think the biggest thing would be to say ‘I’m sorry’ for all the times I forgot my sister’s
birthday. I remember how crushed she was when I forgot her sweet sixteenth. That’s
a big milestone for a girl and I didn’t even remember to call her (I was in Norfolk so I had no excuse) or even send
her a card. I think that day Edith shed her childhood and took on the mantle of a grown (and angry) young woman. Never, never,
never again, I told myself would I ever incur her wrath or my own guilt again. But I did. And I have. Oh, she forgives me.
She always does. But I lost something rather precious when she discovered that her big brother had more important things to
do than wish her a happy birthday. ‘Duty’ might have been a legitimate reason at times, but more often than not,
I was busy with some experiment or getting myself soused at some bar in an exotic port. Maybe Doc can implant me with some
kind of beeper when her birthday comes around again.
What person in my past do I miss most? Dislike
most? Honor most?
II miss Lee the most, followed by my parents and grandparents.
Who do I dislike the most? The evil bastards that killed him. While forensics can’t lay blame to
anyone, I don’t for one minute believe that explosion was really just an accident.
Who do I honor the most? I can’t say the most, but I can place Lee on an equal footing with my grandmother
and George Washington.
Who were the weirdest
people I ever met?
Well, there’ve been more than a few. You won’t believe me. But since I need to fictionalize
the facts, here goes.
Puppets: In fact, there were two of them. One thought he was
me. An annoying me. The other, his puppet
master, was life sized, and set his puppets up as Seaview’s crew.
Mr. P, Time Traveler: he visited us twice. And we, thanks to him, visited colonial America, and prehistoric
times complete with dinosaurs. Well, you wanted weird.
Mr. Clown: Stocked up Seaview with wax replicas of the crew. (Does this seem familiar), except for the
Captain (Lee) who was late (thankfully) getting aboard, and managed to get command of his boat back. (and us with it). I won’t
go into details here as I’m sure you’re quite ready to fling me into a straight jacket. Speaking of straight jackets,
do ghosts count as weird? I could tell you about them too, but I think I’d better stop for now.
What is my deepest
secret?
That, I’m keeping to myself, thank you very much.
What
five things am I most proud of?
Creating NIMR including Seaview and the
Flying Sub even if they’ve been taken from me.
Lee Crane chose to be my friend.
Helping to protect my country and the world.
Helping to clean up and understand the sea
and all her creatures.
Being able to contribute to charities that save people and animals.
Is
there a "turning" point in my life that can be identified?
Realizing that Lee was more than my friend,
enemy, partner, and rival. That he had become a son to me.
What do people remember me for?
Writing my life story will determine that. Otherwise, I’m just another pretty face
on the late news.
To see how Harriman got his wallet back, see Switching Channels
Lesson Four Syllabus
Now, it say in the program that I’ll
need to speak about the people that have been in my life and discuss their influence
on me, by using character sketches. Suggested sketches will probably be parents,
teachers, friends, enemies, lovers, etc. etc. I’m surprised pets weren’t mentioned.
I remember how much I wanted a dog, but my
mother’s cat Lulu pretty much made that impossible. And then there was my maternal grandmother. She was a wild card
if ever there was one so I’ll have to be sure to mention her. And of course, my good friend Jiggs Starke and all of
my career colleagues. Especially Curley, Chip, Francis, Kowalski, all of them,
and of course if there has been one person in my life who influenced me more
than any others, it’s Lee. I’m sure his character sketch will take up an entire ream of paper or whatever the
digital equivalent is.
Class Notes Lesson 4
Casting Call-think of your life story as a movie, and how the people that have influenced you, good and bad, might
be portrayed in it. You are the star, but they are your supporting cast.
Heavens, I can just see the lawsuits.
Use character sketches for them, even for those who only had a minor role in your life. And don't forget yourself.
Make one for each, or even several. The sketches will help you to stay orgainzed as you reveal yourself and their own personalities.
I think I'll need a beer to help me through this. Maybe some pretzels. No, I'll call Sharkey over. He can help me rolodex
everyone.
The character sketch notebook should be alphabetized, and the forms modified if you wish. You might want to add pictures
of your supporting cast.
Maybe I'd better get one of those alpha sorters that Angie had for getting things in order before filing. And maybe keep
these 'sketches' in my safe.
He said, she said. When you are writing your story, always use a new paragraph when the speaker changes.
Well, duh.
Writing dialect is tricky. Especially in a life story. Instead of trying to mimic dialect or accent, it is probably
better to indicate 'he said in an Irish brogue', 'had a heavy Scottish accent', etc.
Ach, noo. You mean I won't be havin' to one of those speech to type things to get it right? What a relief. My grandfather
had an Irish accent even though he was born (he called it borned) in Boston and grew up an all American boy,but the family
had some old country traditions and phrases that pinned them as Irish. For example do you know what a Banshee is? Common to
Irish folklore it's a female ghost who's presence fortells a death in the family. I guess I'm getting off track here Remind
me to include gramps and family ghost. We have a few, actually. One looked just like me. I guess I'll have to include him
in the character sketches.
Using conversation is often better than narrative to bring your characters to life.
I'll use narrative if I want, so there!
Homework Assignment
I'm to do character sketches of everyone's that influenced my life in some way.
This is going to take a while, and a lot of space, so Riley's helped me to set up another page that just
link to the skeches in one holding spot. Thank you Rlley.
My Character Sketches
|
