Ruth asked if this was fact or fiction, and I was initially thinking it sounded so factual (so we're in memoir land, I'm thinking), but as it got stranger -- the wolf's tooth, the extreme change in Gram's behavior, I began to wonder. But I will say this, Tod. This is, hands down, the best story I've read of yours. It must have been the metaphor -- I'm such a sucker for a good metaphor -- and you had me at the title, Charmed, and then the charm bracelet, and the history of this amazing woman. I also had this thought: that if I do live to be 83, I wanna be HER. Great character!
A great character, Tod, evoked with your usual rich detailing. I have one small suggestion. The change in Grandmother is so profound that it might be appropriate to subtly foreshadow it early in the story, before the tooth appears. I greatly enjoyed the piece.
Hi Mike and thank you for the comment. That tooth came out of nowhere, didn't it? Well, could a wolf's tooth come out of nowhere I wondered myself writing it down. I left it but the question hung around, and now here it is again. I'll think about what might presage a wolf's tooth in an old lady's life.
Entranced! This story took an unexpected journey, Tod. Bravo! (See what I did there? Loved all the references to music. As I am fond of saying, "My neighbors listen to good music... whether they like it or not!") Your writing voice is gifted with a strong sense for the evocative, and I enjoyed reading this one. Well done. Keep laying down these stories because they are clearly skilled vehicles for delivering the riches you've collected along your way.
Tod, your stuff just gets better and better. Just the right pace, just the right rise in strangeness and mystery and the approach of we-know-what, and that shaft of dark light to Conrad... So we don't know what Gram's "the horror" referred to exactly, any more than in Heart of Darkness. The heart of the human condition, probably?
. . . meat cubes piled like the ruins of an Egyptian pyramid
. . . sugar cubes piled like a broken Egyptian pyramid
Makes me wonder what's on your plate tonight.
And I haven't heard "antimacassar" in years and years, forever and ever! Did you ever apply Macassar hair oil?
OK. I read this again today and am finally over my shock. Yes, this is an explosive piece and I don't know if I want to congratulate you or order you some medications. I will decide after I read it again tomorrow. In the mean my friend, please take it easy :)
Ruth asked if this was fact or fiction, and I was initially thinking it sounded so factual (so we're in memoir land, I'm thinking), but as it got stranger -- the wolf's tooth, the extreme change in Gram's behavior, I began to wonder. But I will say this, Tod. This is, hands down, the best story I've read of yours. It must have been the metaphor -- I'm such a sucker for a good metaphor -- and you had me at the title, Charmed, and then the charm bracelet, and the history of this amazing woman. I also had this thought: that if I do live to be 83, I wanna be HER. Great character!
Thanks Nancy. One grandmother had a gold charm bracelet but that's it for facts. Definitely no spear.
Good to hear, Tod, which also bespeaks well of your grandmother (smile).
A great character, Tod, evoked with your usual rich detailing. I have one small suggestion. The change in Grandmother is so profound that it might be appropriate to subtly foreshadow it early in the story, before the tooth appears. I greatly enjoyed the piece.
Hi Mike and thank you for the comment. That tooth came out of nowhere, didn't it? Well, could a wolf's tooth come out of nowhere I wondered myself writing it down. I left it but the question hung around, and now here it is again. I'll think about what might presage a wolf's tooth in an old lady's life.
Entranced! This story took an unexpected journey, Tod. Bravo! (See what I did there? Loved all the references to music. As I am fond of saying, "My neighbors listen to good music... whether they like it or not!") Your writing voice is gifted with a strong sense for the evocative, and I enjoyed reading this one. Well done. Keep laying down these stories because they are clearly skilled vehicles for delivering the riches you've collected along your way.
I like your quote, Traci. And thanks for the good words on my writing. Just what I like to hear. : )
This is so good Tod
Thank you Julie.
The Whitmans sampler is a fact.
That's a fact. Forgot that one.
Tod, your stuff just gets better and better. Just the right pace, just the right rise in strangeness and mystery and the approach of we-know-what, and that shaft of dark light to Conrad... So we don't know what Gram's "the horror" referred to exactly, any more than in Heart of Darkness. The heart of the human condition, probably?
Probably.
What a formidable woman!
Fact or fiction?
Faction?
yes, the left-most wing of the Party Against the Tea Party Society
OK
Fiction, most definitely, with a fact or two, like the broken pyramids:)
. . . meat cubes piled like the ruins of an Egyptian pyramid
. . . sugar cubes piled like a broken Egyptian pyramid
Makes me wonder what's on your plate tonight.
And I haven't heard "antimacassar" in years and years, forever and ever! Did you ever apply Macassar hair oil?
OK. I read this again today and am finally over my shock. Yes, this is an explosive piece and I don't know if I want to congratulate you or order you some medications. I will decide after I read it again tomorrow. In the mean my friend, please take it easy :)