Kelly Gibbons, artist and writer, about me

Sunday, January 18, 2004

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."
St. Augustine, 354 430
Early Christian Priest, Author

This quote made me think that maybe I don't have as boring a life as I think. I just think it is boring because it is what I live everyday and I stopped seeing what was so special about it.

I still need to go out and do more, and I intend to do this. Even if it is very small at first I plan on doing things instead of wishing I did.

Now getting back to the quote: what makes me wondrous? Every person has a story to tell. If we stop and listen, I think every person could tell us something very interesting about himself.

Take my grandfather for instance. He is 89 years old, and if you saw him in passing you wouldn't think any thing remarkable, although he does resemble the late George Burns. Here are just a sampling of the stories he could tell:

*He was one of 13 children
*His father is also his "uncle"--OK that sounds bad, but here's the story, his father was abandoned at a young age with several brother's and sister's, my grandfather's mother's family took him in and "adopted" him--the other siblings were taken in by other families
*He remembers what it was like to live in the Great Depression
*He remembers secret union meetings (for the coal miners) taking place in the woods behind his house and his father and grandfather being part of them
*He was a witness in a murder trial (he found the victims clothing) that was so similar to the murder in American Tragedy that author Theodore Dreiser was also a witness in the case
*He is Notre Dame's #1 Fan--I know a lot of people claim this but they are probably not on a first name basis with the coaches and staff of many of the varsity teams (football, baseball, cheerleading, and basketball), and also with several former coaches, and has his name included in former coach Gerry Faust's book

So what makes me wondrous?
Now that's a little harder. It is so much harder to find the amazing things within. But, everyone has a story to tell. The local paper used to run a feature where they would randomly select a name from the phone book and call the person and ask them for their story. I loved that concept, average people have interesting stories to tell. They were simple, sweet, and human, but I always found them interesting. It always made me wonder what I would talk about if I was called.

Would I talk about the time I was 14 and flew to California by myself to meet my pen-pal?

Or would I talk about my children? I always feel bad when I do this, because my son gets pushed to the side--everyone wants to talk about "the twins." People are fascinated by twins (when I was in Jamaica one man wanted to touch my hand, he wanted me to bring him luck to have twins). So, would I talk about the twins?

Or would I talk about my trip to Jamaica, and meeting John and Richie the wood carvers, and the gift they gave me?

I could always talk about my unrealistic fear of caterpillars. Yes I know they are just tiny furry...Oh, I have to stop. YUCK!

There is always the fact that I was voted "Most Punk" in my senior class. I wonder what I'd look like with purple hair now? Where is that purple leopard print dress and those black fish net stockings? That would shake things up!

Oh, you want something more current, we could talk about the coaching license I earned, or the classes I'm taking.

Backing up a bit, we can talk about why I infamous at the local college and what part I played in having the athletic building evacuated twice?

15 years as a waitress would give me plenty to talk about--I can cover the funny to the down right disgusting here!

Oh, yes, and how could I forget my most recent adventure in New York. I almost lost my daughters on the subway. And there is always the Louis Vouitton purse caper.

Maybe I would talk about writing, about finding and reading a web site that inspired me so much I quit my job to become a writer.

Maybe I'd have so much to talk about the reporter would hang up the phone, "Ah, thanks ma'am but I only have 500 words!"

Now that I have stopped to think about it. My life really is not too bad, it is fuller than I think. Every person has a story, and I have quite a few. It is nice to stop and remember how wondrous every person is, including me.

posted by Kelly @ 1/18/2004 11:10:00 AM

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