DESK DEFINITION
By Lisa Turner
It’s been said that our friends define us. What about our desks?
Five things I found scattered on my desktop:
- A prediction from a fortune cookie that reads: “There’s a big change ahead of you.” Depending on my mood, I can either be elated about that or wildly depressed.
- A set of DVDs entitled “Building Great Sentences” that instruct you on the correct way to write sentences that go on for a page and a half without taking a breath. I renamed the course: “Addicted to Parenthetical Phrases.”
- A coffee mug bought at Square Books in Oxford, MS., home of William Faulkner. (Please note the parenthetical phrase at the end of that sentence.)On the mug is this quote from Flannery O’Connor. “Whenever I ask why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one.” The mug is my totem. I can’t write unless it’s in my line of sight.
- Sticky notes of useful words and people’s names. There’s Preston Teagarden. Nancy Pynch-Worthylake. Zook Rebus. Ding Paulie. The word “idjit” is a favorite of mine. “Don’t hold me responsible; I’m an idjit.” I also like “rabid.” You never hear it anymore. I once used “rabid” to describe a friend who does needlepoint. She took it to heart. We’re no longer speaking.
- A grocery receipt for $110 worth of groceries that fit into two small bags. Here’s a question: In the grocery store check out line, do you watch what the person in front of you buys so you can figure out what their life is like? If I checked groceries, I’d be totally entertained. I enjoy Pinterest for the same reason. Pretty pictures, deep psychological profiles.
I spend more time with my desk than with my friends. This exercise has been a revelation.
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